Order 8. 



NEUROPTEEA. 



577 



THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE NEUROPTERA,— 



The Planipennes, — 

 Which composes, with the following, the greater portion of the order Synistata of Fabricius, com- 

 prises those Neuroptera which have the antenna; always composed of a great number of joints, and 

 longer than the head ; the mandibles are distinct, and the lower wings nearly equal to the upper, 

 extended, or simply folded under at the inner edge. 



They have generally the wings very much reticulated and naked, with the maxillary palpi ordinarily 

 filiform, or rather thickened at the tips, shorter than the head, and composed of four or five joints. 



I shall divide this family into five sections, composing, on account of their habits, so many small 

 distinct sub-families. 



1. The Panorpatce of Latreille, which have five joints in all the tarsi, and the anterior extremity 

 of the head prolonged, and narrowed in the form of a beak or rostrum. They constitute the genus 



Panorpa, Linnaeus, — 

 And have the antennre setaceous, and inserted between the eyes ; the clypeus prolonged into a 

 corneous conical plate, grooved beneath to receive the mouth ; the mandibles, maxillae, and lower lip 

 nearly linear ; four or six short filiform palpi ; those of the maxillce appearing to me to consist of only 

 four joints. The body is long, the head vertical, the first segment of the thorax very small and collar- 

 like. The two sexes differ greatly in many species. Their transformations have not been observed. 



Nemoptera, Latr., Oliv., has the hind-wings exceedingly long- and linear, and the ocelli are wanting. These 

 singular insects have hitherto been only observed in the hottest parts of Europe, Africa, and the adjacent parts of 

 Asia. [See the recent monograph of King in the Berlin Transaciioiis.'] 



mtfacits, Latr., lias the four wings of equal size, as well as ocelli ; the abdomen is alike in both sexes, and the 

 legs long and terminated by a single tarsal unguis. [Exotic species.] 



Panorpa, Latr., has wings and ocelU like those of Bittacus, but the abdomen of the male is terminated by a 

 long, jointed, recurved tail, with a claw at the tip ; and that of the female is long, and pointed at the tip. The legs 

 are of moderate length, and the tarsi have two ungues. 



Panorpa communis, Linn., is a very abundant species, found in hedges and woods. 

 [Several other British species,] 



Boreus, Latr., differs from the preceding in the large size of the prothorax ; the 

 wings of the males are short, curved, and awl-shapeil, and the females are wingless. 

 The only species, B. kiemalis, Linn., is found in winter under moss in the north of 

 Europe, and on the Alps. [It is small, and has occurred, but rarely, in this country.] 



2. The Myrmeleonides, having also five joints in the tarsi, but in which 

 the head is not prolonged in the form of a beak or muzzle, and the antennae 

 are thickened at the tips. The head is transverse and vertical, having only 

 compound eyes, which are round and prominent ; six palpi, those of the 

 labium being longer than the others, and thickened at the tips ; the first segment of the thorax is 

 small ; the wings of equal size, long, and roof-like ; the abdomen mostly long and cylindric, with two 

 filiform appendages at its extremity, in the males ; the legs are short. They inhabit hot situations in 

 the southern climates of both hemispheres, clinging to plants, where they remain stationary during the 

 day. They fly swiftly. Their pupa; are inactive. These insects compose the genus 



Myrmeleon, Linn., — 

 Which Fabricius has divided into two. 



Myrmeleon proper, has the antennre gradually thick- 

 ened, curved at the tips, and much shorter than the 

 body, and the abdomen is long and linear. 



The destruction which the larva of the common Eu- 

 ropean species makes amongst Ants, has gained for it 

 the name of the Ant Lion. Its abdomen is very large, 

 <7. proportioned to the rest of its body ; its head is very- 

 small, and armed with two long horn-like mandibles, 

 toothed on the inside and pointed at the tip, which serve 

 it both for pinchers and suckers. Although furnished 

 with six legs it walks but slowly, almost always back- 

 wards : not being able, therefore, to follow its prey, it 

 resoi ts to stratagem, and forms in the sand a conical 



9 



Fig. 107- — Panorpa communis. 



fig. lUc^.— J'Uliill i.l :11 



