vi] LARVAE AND THEIR ADAPTATIONS 57 



taking no food. The last larval instar again has 

 short legs like the grub of the second period. In 

 connection with this life-history we notice that the 

 newly-hatched larva is not in the neighbourhood 

 of its appropriate food. Hence the preliminary 

 armoured and active instar is necessary in order to 

 reach the feeding place ; this journey accomplished, 

 the cruciform condition is at once assumed. 



In all cases indeed we may say that the particular 

 larval form is adapted to the special conditions of 

 life. A few examples from other orders of endo- 

 pterygote insects will illustrate this point. The 

 campodeiform type is relatively unusual, but most 

 of the Neuroptera have larvae of this kind, active, 

 armoured creatures with long legs, though devoid of 

 the tail-processes often associated with similar larvae 

 among the Coleoptera. Such are the 'Ant-lions/ 

 larvae of the exotic lace wing flies, which hunt 

 small insects, digging a sandy pit for their unwary 

 steps in the case of the best-known members of the 

 group, some of which are found as far north as 

 Paris. In our own islands the 'Aphis-lions/ larvae of 

 Hemerobius and Chrysopa, prowl on plants infested 

 with 'green-fly' which they impale on their sharp 

 grooved mandibles, sucking out the victims' juices, 

 and then, in some cases, using the dried cuticle to 

 furnish a clothing for their own bodies. Among 

 these insects, while the mouth of the imago is of the 



