THE APHIS LION. 95 



lived in his whole career never slew half so many 

 of his own species as the larva of a beautiful fly 

 does of aphides in a few hours. Well does Reaumur 

 call them the " lions of the aphides/' and thus does 

 he describe their method of proceeding : 



" There is no beast of prey in nature who hunts 

 so entirely at his ease as does this larva. Resting 

 upon a twig or a leaf, he is surrounded on every 

 side by the insects on which he feeds ; often, 

 indeed, they touch his sides, and he is able to catch 

 hundreds of them without changing his position. 

 Not only do the poor little aphides not fly from 

 him, but they may be often seen creeping over 

 the body of their enemy. It is only after the 

 larva has eaten up the greater number of his prey 

 around him, that he has any need to remove to a 

 spot as thickly inhabited by them as that in which 

 he has been making his cruel ravages. In order 

 to observe the manner in which he attacks them, 

 the best plan is to take him, put him between 

 two leaves, and shut him up in a box for ten or 

 twelve hours to sharpen his appetite. After this 

 fast he must be placed on some spot where the 

 aphides are found in abundance. Immediately he 

 begins exploring around for prey, which he does 



