NEUROPTERA. 63 



soons hardens on exposure to the air. By-and-by she 

 affixes a small egg, which she fastens by another drop 

 of the secreted fluid, to the extremity of the thread. 



Beautiful in form, structure, and colour as the Lace- 

 wing is, it generally has a most offensive odour, which 

 it readily imparts to the hand that has hold of it, and 

 which is more easily acquired than got rid of. The 

 larva spins a small round cocoon, in which it developes 

 its pupal and imago states. The I(emerohiidai_Sive 

 allied to the 3Ij/rmelioni d€B or Ant-lions , whose curious 

 little larvae, possessed of a formidable pair of jaws, ex- 

 cavate hollow pits in sandy places inhabited by them, in 

 which they conceal themselves with the exception of 

 the head and jaws, and lie in wait for prey ; should an 

 unlucky insect or larva slip into this sandy hole, the 

 Ant-lion is soon down upon him and sucks his juices ; 

 should he attempt to beat a retreat by climbing the 

 sides of the pit, the Ant-lion throws up showers of 

 sand, and quickly brings him down. 



The Panorhidce, or Scorpion-flies, so called from a 

 curious pincer-like appendage at the end of the tail, 

 exactly like that of the scorpion, have also a peculiar 

 head, which is prolonged below into a beak, at the end 

 of which the mouth is situated. The most common British 

 species and type of the family is Panorba communis, 

 generally found in hedges (Plate II., Fig. 3). They are 

 predaceous in their habits, feeding upon other insects, and 

 probably are beneficial in this respect. The tail-forceps 

 which the insect is fond of displaying in threatening 

 attitudes, seems to say, " Noli me tangere" to the 

 insect collector ; it is, however, powerless to hurt. The 

 other British genus, Boreus, contains only one species. 



