ELEMENTARY ENTOMOLOGY 



The aphis-lions (Chrysopidae) are among the most important 

 enemies of the noxious plant-lice. The larvae are small, dark-colored, 



spindle-shaped insects, from 

 one fourth to one third of an 

 inch long, with large, pincer- 

 like jaws, much longer than the 

 head, with which they grasp 

 the aphides. On the inside 

 of each mandible is a deep 

 groove, against which the max- 

 illa fits, thus forming a tube 

 through which the juices of the 



FIG. 1 1 6. A Myrmeleonid, the adult of 

 the ant-lion 



prey are sucked into the mouth. 



When full grown, the larva spins a small, globular cocoon of 

 pure white silk, in which it pupates. Frequently the old cocoons 

 will be found with a small, circular lid which the adult has opened 



FIG. 117. The ant-lion 



a, larva of Myrmeleon sp. (three times natural size) ; b, pit of ant-lion, Myrmeleon sp., and 



below a pupal sand-cocoon from which the adult has just issued, the pupal skin remaining 



(natural size). (After Kellogg) 



in making its escape. The adults are about an inch long, of a deli- 

 cate pale green color, with brown antennae and finely veined wings, 

 which are held like a roof over the back, and which have given 

 them the name of "lace-winged flies." The eyes are a glistening 



