Tiger Beetles 215 



careless insect that thoughtlessly crosses the fatal 

 ring. 



I said " crosses," but it seldom gets across, it 

 usually stops right there! (Fig. 196.) The jaws 

 of the baby Tiger beetle which, like a spring trap 

 (Fig. 197), have been held open, come together 

 like a vise on the unfortunate victim's body (Fig. 

 196), the prisoner is then drawn into the hole and 

 devoured at leisure. 



On the fifth ring of its body, counting from the 

 tail, the grub or baby Tiger beetle has a hump with 

 two hooks (Fig. 193) by which the thing anchors 

 itself in its hole when its jaws are fastened on a prey 

 too big and strong for it to manage without an 

 anchor, or it uses the hump to aid it in climbing 

 to the top of its well. 



If the reader will look in the paths where the 

 ground is hard and smooth, he may find a number 

 of small holes which have the appearance of old 

 ant holes, but which are really holes occupied by 

 the hobgoblin larvaj of the Tiger beetles. 



My dear friend, the late W. Hamilton Gibson, 

 once said that he counted seven small holes within 

 sight as he sat upon the steps of his house. The 



