NEUROPTERA. 173 



an ^gg emits from the end of her body a small drop 

 of a tenacious substance : this is drawn into a thread 

 by Hfting the abdomen ; then an tgg is placed on the 

 tip end of the thread. These threads or stalks (Fig. 

 1 20, b^ are often attached to plants infested with 

 aphides. The larvae (Fig. 120, c) feed on the plant- 

 lice, and are called aphis-lions. The mouth parts of 

 these larvae are pecuHar. On the lower side of each 

 mandible is a groove into which fits the maxilla, 

 forming a tube through which the blood of animals 

 is sucked. Fig. 120, d, is the small, round, silken 

 cocoon in which the larva transforms to a pupa, and 

 in e of the same figure the lid of the cocoon is seen 

 with the small opening, out of which conies the mature 

 fly. To the same family belongs the ant-lion, Myr- 

 nieleon obsoletus ''Fig. 121), common at the South, 



Specimens of this insect can be sent to Northern 

 teachers through the mail, and they can also be found 

 in limited areas in New England. The mandibles of 

 the adult are small, but those of the larva (Fig. 122) 

 are large and stout. The larva has the curious habit 

 of making a funnel in loose sand, by using its head and 



