THE NEMOPTERA. 



13 



Ant-lions not only by their form, but by having no denticulations on the inner surface of the 

 jaws. They devote themselves to the destruction of the Aphides which infest various trees and 

 plants in such numbers, and are frequently so injurious to them, and it v/ill easily be understood 

 that a rapidly growing larva of about half an inch long will commit very considerable havoc 

 among such feeble and sluggish creatures as the Plant-lice. In the hop-gardens these larvae 

 always abound, and one of the speoies has received the name of Hemerobius humuli from this 

 circumstance. The cocoon is attached by the larva to a leaf, and under favourable circumstances 

 the imago soon makes its appearance, so that there are several broods of these insects in the 

 season. These insects 

 may be observed in 



mild weather until late 

 in the autumn ; and 

 they pass the winter 

 in the perfect state in 

 some sheltered locality. 

 Several other 



genei'a belong 



to this 



group, but of these we 

 will notice only the 

 curious forms consti- 

 tuting the genus Ne- 

 moptera, in which the 

 hind wings, instead of 

 being similar and 

 nearly equal to the 

 fore wings, are very 

 long, forming a sort of 

 strap, of which the 

 extremity is a little 

 dilated, while the fore 

 wings are very much 

 broader than is usual 

 in the family. These 

 insects, which are ex- 

 ceedingly elegant, live 

 in the warmer parts 

 of the Old World, from 

 Southern Europe to 

 Australia. They fly 

 briskly in the hottest 



sunshine. Their appearance in flight is illustrated in the above figure of the European species 

 (Nemoptera coa), which inhabits Turkey and the adjoining parts of Asia and Africa. The trans- 

 formations are not exactly known, but the larva of A T . coa is supposed to be a singular little creature 

 described by M. Bertram! Roux Tinder the name of Necrophilus arenarius, having an oval body, 

 with an excessively long, slender neck, composed of the prothorax. 



The MANTISPID.E, including the single genus Mantispa, which appear to be most nearly 

 related to the Hemerobiidse, and, indeed, are referred to that group by some writers, are distin- 

 guishable at the first glance by the structure of the fore legs. These are elongated and converted 

 into raptorial organs, resembling those of the Mantidse, Praying Insects, or Soothsayers, which we 

 shall have to describe under the order Orthoptera, the coxae being much lengthened, the femora freely 

 articulated at their extremity, somewhat thickened, and spined or toothed beneath, while the tibiae are 

 attached to the extremity of the femora by a hinge joint, and with the tarsi shut against the lower 

 surface of the thighs, like the blade of a clasp-knife. To add to the resemblance to the Mantidse the 



NtMOPTEKA COA AND ASCALAPHUS LONGICORNIS. 



