NOTES ON VARIOUS INSECTS. 461 



ant is naturally the more compact and stronger insect; its 

 mandibles are more truncate, but are not so long nor sharp 

 at the extremities, and the ant-lion being perfectly aware of 

 this advantage, on seizing the ant invariably dragged it right 

 under the sand, by which means the ant could not turn on it, 

 or seize its soft body, without getting a mouthful of sand, 

 i which I suppose would not have been more agreeable than the 

 ashes of the Dead Sea fruit were to Satan and his crew ; but 

 the larva of the ant-lion having hollow jaws, and feeding only 

 on the juices of the ant, was by no means incommoded by the 

 arrangement. Very shortly after this, the new ant-lion showed 

 proofs of a very unamiable disposition: the weaker ant-lion had 

 as yet escaped its observation, but a jerk of sand, directed at 

 an unfortunate ant that was passing, showed our new friend 

 that it was not the sole occupant of the tumbler. It then 

 left its pit and ran under ground, like a mole, towards the 

 weaker ant-lion, which ran off in the same manner, and a chase 

 commenced. The larger larva proving the swifter, the smaller 

 was obliged to turn round and show fight, but was easily 

 seized and dragged under ground, when I interfered, and placed 

 them under separate tumblers. By June 20th this new larva 

 was nearly full grown : it was very industrious, seldom keeping 

 its pit long entire. When a large lively ant was placed in the 

 tumbler, and carefully avoided the pit, and the sand jerked at 

 it, the ant-lion would frequently enlarge the pit, so as to give it 

 the diameter of the glass, by which means the ant could not 

 escape falling in. I also saw it occasionally catch house flies, 

 which had happened to alight at the bottom of the pit, not 

 observing the greedy pair of jaws which protruded and seized 

 the fly. It spun its web about the end of June, and came out 

 to a perfect insect on July 31st. 



In Cephalonia were several species of ant-lion. I captured 

 seven species, but I believe there were others. 



M. Libelluloides was a very common species, and as far 

 as my observations went, appears to differ from other ant-lions 

 in the habits of its larva, which does not appear to excavate a 

 pit, but lurks underground, running like a mole, and leaving 

 a track behind it. The first of these larvae I met with on 

 May 19th ; they are seven or eight lines in length, and are 

 milk white with black spots ; the mandibles have three side 

 teeth : the sides of the body are clothed with short scattered 



