NEUROPTERA. 22 7 



these larvae is of such a nature that it can all be absorbed, and thus 

 the rectum is not needed for the passage of waste matter. 



Ascdlaphus. — As already stated, this genus differs from the ant- 

 lions in the form of its antennae. The body is short, and the wings 

 are less densely veined than in Myrmeleon. The early stages of our 

 species have not been observed. In case of certain European 

 species the eggs are laid upon the stems of grass ; and the larvae 

 live upon the ground, hiding under stones, and seizing, by stepping 

 forward, insects that pass near them. 



Sub-family V. — MANTISPIN^E, 

 {The Mantis-like Neuroptera.) 



This remarkable sub-family is represented in our fauna by a single 

 genus, Mantispa. These insects present an unusual form of the 

 prothorax and the first pair of legs: a form that strikingly resembles 

 the shape of these parts in the family Mantidas of the order Orthop- 

 tera. The prothorax is elongated, cylindrical, and more or less 

 trumpet-shaped. The first pair .of legs are enlarged and fitted for 

 grasping. The wings are narrow, the two pairs similar ; and the 

 costal and subcostal veins are confluent near the middle of the costal 

 margin. 



As indicated by the form of the grasping legs, the adult Mantispa 

 resembles the true Mantis in its predaceous habits. The trans- 

 formations of these insects are of unusual interest. It was acci- 

 dentally discovered that the larvae were parasitic in the egg-sacs of 

 spiders of the genus Lycosa. These are the large black spiders that 

 are common under stones, and which carry their egg-sacs with 

 them. Brauer obtained eggs from a female Mantispa kept in con- 

 finement. These eggs were rose-red in color, and fastened upon 

 stalks, like the eggs of Chrysopa. The eggs w ere laid in July : and the 

 larvae emerged 21 days later. The young larvae are very agile crea- 

 tures, with a long, slender body, well-developed legs, and long, 

 slender antennae. They pass the winter without food. In the 

 spring they find their way into the egg-sacs of the above-named 

 spiders. Here they feed upon the young spiders; and the body 

 becomes proportionately thicker. Later the larva moults and un- 

 dergoes a remarkable change in form, becoming what is known as 

 the second larva. In this stage the bod} - is much swollen, resem- 

 bling in form the larva of a bee. The legs are much reduced in 

 size; the antennae are short: and the head is very small. When 



