The Ant-Lion. 575 



giddy fly falls into the deathful pit. Then all his skill 

 is put in requisition ; he throws out, by the shaking of 

 his large jaws, a great quantity of sand upon the insect, 

 to prevent its climbing up the steep sides of the hole ; 

 and when the prey appears strong and nimble, he gives 

 such a general commotion, that the whole construction 

 crumbles down, and the unfortunate insect, overwhelmed 

 with the ruins, falls into the jaws of the Ant-lion, which 

 open like a pair of forceps. When the Ant-lion has 

 sucked out the blood and inside of his prey, he takes it 

 upon his head, and, by a sudden jerk, throws the car- 

 case to a distance from his abode. When the larva has 

 attained its full size, it spins for itself a cocoon of white 

 shining silk, with an external covering of sand. In 

 about three weeks there bursts from this pupa case 

 a slender-waisted winged insect, which, after fluttering 

 about for a few weeks, and depositing eggs in the sand, 

 resigns its life. The winged insect resembles a beau- 

 tiful dragon-fly ; it has a head of a chestnut colour ; the 

 body is of a pearly grey, the legs short, and the wings, 

 which resemble the finest lace, are beautifully marked 

 with dark lines and spots. This fly is often seen flutter- 

 ing about the sides of roads and dry banks exposed to 

 the east, in the months of June and July ; it continues 

 for a little time, and then entirely disappears. The Ant- 

 lion is not found in this country ; but in the south of 

 France and Italy there is not a bank on the sides of a 

 public road, or a sandy ridge at the foot of an old wall, 

 which does not harbour a great number of these insects. 



