37 



The eggsoF this insect are curiously phieed upon stalks as shown in Fi^. 18. Dr. Fitch 

 says, " Nature has furnished these insects with a fluid analagous to that with which spiders 



are provided for spinning their webs, which possesses the re- 

 markable property of hardening immediately on being ex- 

 posed tothe air. When ready to drop an egg, the female 

 touches the end of her body the surface of the leaf, and 

 then elevating her body, draws out a slender and cob-web- 

 like thread half an inch long or less, and places a little 

 oval egg at its summit. Thus a small round spot resembling 

 **• • mildew is formed upon the surface of the leaf from the 



middle of w hich arises a very slender glossy white thread, which is sonu'timcs split at its 

 base, thus giving it a more secure attachment than it would have if single. The egg at its 

 summit is of a pale green colour when newly deposited, but before it hatches it becomes 

 whitish and shows two or three faint dusky transverse bands. The larva leaves it commonly I 

 think in less than a week from the time it is deposited, through an opening which it gnaws 

 in the summit, and the shell remains empty supported on its stalk, somewhat shrivelled and 

 of a white colour. 



The young larva begins at once to seek its food, and if it finds itself in the midst of a 

 colony of plant lice, many of these speedily fall victims to its enormous appetite, but if not 

 so favourably situated, a vigorous search is generally rewarded by the finding of a cluster of 

 insects' egtcs or some newly hatched catterpillars, either of which will furni.sh our young tra- 

 veller with a dainty meal. The larvae of the different species vary somewhat in colour and 

 ornamentation, but in most instances the ground colour is of a dull reddi.sli brown, and there 

 are whitish markings along the sides, and a dark central stripe. They all have long, narrosv 

 bodies, and are furnished with six rather long legs, and two long and slender, but powerful 

 jaws curved like a sickle, and down each side of the body is a row of tubercles, each tubercle 

 being tipped with a cluster of spreading hairs or spines. Fig. 18 will give a good idea of 

 their general appearance. In some species the bristly clusters of hairs are so multiplied as to 

 almost cover the .surface. Dr. Fitch mentions a novel use to which these hairs are put, he 

 says that these voradious creatures aften conceal themselves from view by placing the empty 

 skins of the victims they have devoured, between their radiating bristles so that they adhere 

 and thus completely hide the insect from view. It is the skins of the woolly plant lice that 

 they mostly cm|il(iy for this purpose, and thus covered they resemble a little mass of white 

 down adhering to the bark of the tree, presenting just such an appearance as does a little 

 colony of woolly plant lice. By this device they are enabled to approach their victims without 

 exciting their alarm and to quietlv devour them one by one. 



■ After acquiring full growth the ant-lion havini; made a hearty meal, remains for a time 

 torpid, and then begins to spin its cocoon, which is formed from a glutinous fluid supplied 

 and distributed by the hinder e.vtremity of the body, a fluid which hardens as it is spun into 

 threads. In a few hours the in.scct spins enough of its cocoon to hide itself from view, and 

 when completed the threads composing the cocoon are so closely compacted as to sive the sur- 

 face a papery look. During the operation the larva contracts much in size and band.iges 

 itself so tightly within its enclosure that the cocoon appears very small in comparison with the 

 size of the larva constructing it. Here the insect changes to a chrysalis of a pale grren colour 

 and remains in this condition in summer a fortuight, but if the insect belongs to the later 

 brood, it remains in the chrysalis state all winter, appearing as a perfect fly the following 

 spring. 



Other enemies to the plant lice are to be found among the larva; of the various species 

 of Syrphus flics. These flies vary in size, some beinu' smaller, others larger than the common 

 house fly, and usually more slender in form, they are also handsomer, their bodies being of a 

 bright yellow colour, banded and spotted with black. Fig. 19 represents one of the species. 

 \\^( They are very swift of flight, darting about with great rapidity, asjain 



t) hovering with poised wing in the bright sunshine, or alighting 'ipon 



flowers Thi'sc flics place their eggs singly, fastening them to a leaf or 

 twiir infcsteil by plant lice, usually placing them in the midst of a colony 

 where the young larva; may not have long to search for approiiriate food. 

 One cannot go far in summer in the careful examination of groups of 

 plant lice°without meeting with those small white oval eggs. The young larva when hatched 



