472 



Marvels of Insect Life, 



to hide his operations from the gardener^ — who hnds it diftuult to behe\-e in the 

 existence of Insects that are friendh' to him — he disguises himself by covering his 

 bodv with the sucked-dry skins of his victims, until he becomes an entomological 

 " old-clo' man." Nature appears to have given him decided help in this direction, 

 for from each segment of the body there stands out on each side a fleshy process 

 which supports about half a dozen bristles. These bristles spread out fan-wise, 

 and keep the heap of rubbish from interfering with the action of the legs in walking. 

 The curved jaws are sharp pointed and hollow, and when they have impaled an 

 aphis, all its fluids are sucked through them. Then the thin, empty skin is tossed 

 over the head and makes a little addition to the portable rubbish-heap. Delicate 

 silken threads run through the rubbish and help to keep it together, but whether 

 this is spun by the aphis-lion or borrowed from some wandering spider is not known. 

 If we capture one of these aphis-lions, and carefully clear the rubbish off its back, 

 we shall find tliat the Insect roughly resembles the ant-lion, though it is of more 



slender shape. When the aphis-lion has sucked 

 dry as many aphides as it can, and feels that 

 it has reached the limit of larva-hood, it spins 

 a silken cocoon, and turns to a chrysalis ; but 

 just before the latter is ready to cast its skin 

 and appear as a four-winged brown lace-wing 

 it breaks through the cocoon. The wings are 

 verv delicate and finely netted. The long, 

 fine antennae are made up of many short, 

 bead-like joints, so that an antenna looks like 

 a minute necklace. The Insect flies with a 

 weak, drifting flight, and when it settles on 

 a leaf the four wings are folded in such a way 

 that the body is completely hidden under a 

 high, ridged roof that comes down right over 

 the sides. In this country we have no fewer 

 than eighteen species, whose differences are 

 only of scientific interest ; and the distribution of the genus is world-wide. Several 

 allied genera come close to them in the winged state, among them the green lace- 

 wings or golden-eyes. 



Osmylus^ in its winged state is very like the brown lace-wings, but is much 

 larger. Its larva differs considerably in its habits, being semi-aquatic and living 

 about the edge of the water, lurking under stones, in moss, or about tlu' acjuatic 

 vegetation. Its jaws are converted into almost straight, liollow, sharp-pointed 

 spears upon which it impales small Insects, and sucks their juices through the 

 spears. It is remarkable as having no posterior outlet to tiie digestive system ; 

 the hinder j)art being modified into a spinning apparatus. In this respect it 

 resembles the grub of the ant-lion. When full fed it forms a round cocoon in 

 which it mixes grains of sand with the silk. Drepanoptervx - is mucli \\kr a ni(»tlu 

 and moth-like it has hooks for the locking of the fore and liind wings in flight. 

 These are shown in the photograi)h on jxage^/^. 



' ( )v clirysops. - I). plialdMioitles. 



Photo bv] 



[E. Step, F.LS. 



The Aphis-Lion. 



The aphis-lion is tho grub of the brown lace-wing. After 

 sucking his victims dry he heaps their skins upon his 

 hack and carries them about, like an Indian brave with 

 his trophy of scalps. In the photograpli lie is magnified 

 four times. 



