XEUEOPTEEA. 



143 



Fig. 99.— aphis-lion. 



like fluid, sufficiently viscid to be drawn out into a long 

 tliread-like filament, uj^on tlie farthest end of which the 

 egg is attached, so that when the filaments are liardened 

 by exposure to the air, each 

 egg is sus2oended at the ex- 

 tremity of a slender foot-stalk. 

 The larva3 hatched from these 

 eggs have been named " Aphis- 

 lions," for no sooner do they 

 get on to the plants, then they 

 attack the aphides with insa- 

 tiable voracity, and are thus of 

 incalculable benefit to the gar- 

 dener. Some of them cover 

 their bodies 'uith the skins of 

 their victims, so as to render 

 themselves almost invisible. 

 When full fed, they spin them- 

 selves cocoons, and thus await 

 their final change. 



The Stone Flies (SembUs) 

 are among the favourite Im'es of the fly-fisher. These 

 insects lay their eggs upon the rushes by the river-side, 

 placing them perpendicularly on end, like nine-pins, glued 

 together. The larva inhabits the water, where it breathes 

 by means of gill-like filaments attached to the side of its 

 body. 



The White Ants (Termes). These destructive insects 

 have no relationshij) whatever with the ants properly so 

 called. They abound in all tropical 

 countries, where, whilst in their j/ 



larva condition, they commit terrible ^^ 



ravages. Their larv^, called also ^ 



workers or labom'ers, very much ^ 



, , ,, fl , • , V , ,1 • Fig. 100.— worker ter3iite. 



resemble the periect insects, but their 



bodies are softer, they have no wings, and their head, 

 which seems proportionately of larger size, is not fur- 

 nished with eyes, or if they exist at all, they are extremely 

 minute. These insects congregate together in societies so 

 numerous as to defy calculation. They live together, 

 either concealed underground, or they take up their abode 

 in anything that is made of wood, no matter what, — trees, 

 planks, and beams; even articles of furniture are made 



