118 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



on which to hang one of its web lines ; the 

 treacherous trap-door is in its direct path. Its 

 feet rest on it ; instantly the trap drops, and the 

 poor insect falls into the dark den, and is caught 

 in the powerful jaws of the artful larva. Truly, 

 there is something even to man a little intimi- 

 dating in the sight of such a monster as is repre- 

 sented here ; how much more 

 to the unfortunate insect who 

 happens to be caught in its 

 embrace, and having only time 



Larrao fthe Tiger-Beetle. ^ j^ ^^ ft gi; mpse Q f ft 3 



fearful captor, is dragged down in a cloud of dust 

 to be devoured in darkness at the bottom of the den. 

 Yet this also, like other cruel creatures, is in reality 

 a very timid larva, and instantly on the approach of 

 danger, drops to the bottom of the cell, where, if 

 we have courage to pursue it, we shall find it much 

 in the attitude in which it is here represented. 

 The singular pair of hooks on its back are used as 

 the flukes of an anchor to sustain the insect in 

 the position it assumes at the mouth of the cell. 



Mention has already been made in the previous 

 chapter of the insects called Ichneumons, which 

 deposit their eggs in the bodies of the larvae of 



