S HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER III. 



OF THE FORMICA LEO, OR LION-ANT, 



ALTHOUGH this animal properly belongs to no 

 order of insects, yet, as it is changed into a fly 

 very much resembling that described in the pre- 

 ceding chapter, it may not be improper to give its 

 history here. If we consider the life of this ani- 

 mal in its different stages of existence, we shall 

 find it equally wonderful in all j but as it changes 

 to a dragon-fly, what we have said of that animal 

 above need not be repeated here. The Lion-Ant, 

 when it becomes an inhabitant of air, in every 

 respect resembles that which has been already 

 described; its glossy wings, its voracious appe- 

 tites, its peculiar manner of generation, are en- 

 tirely the same. It is in its reptile state that it 

 differs from all other insects j and in that state it 

 will be amusing to pursue its history. 



The lion-ant, in its reptile state, is of the size 

 of a common wood-louse, but somewhat broader. 

 It has a pretty long head and a roundish body, 

 which becomes a little narrower towards the tail. 

 The colour is a dirty grey, speckled with black, 

 and the body is composed of several flat rings, 

 which slip one upon another. It has six feet, four 

 of which are fixed to the breast and two to the 

 neck. The head is small and flat, and before 

 there are two little smooth horns or feelers, 

 which are hard, about a quarter of an inch long, 



