NEUROPTERA. 441 



ble but its mandibles, it awaits with patience till an Insect is precipitated 

 into it; if it endeavour to escape, or be at too great a distance for it to seize, 

 it showers upon it such a torrent of sand by means of its head and mandi- 

 bles, as propels it stunned and defenceless to the bottom of the hole* 

 Having- exhausted its juices by suction, it jerks away the carcass. 



When about to pass into the state of a chrysalis, it encloses^itself in a 

 perfectly round cocoon, formed of a silky substance of the colour of satin> 

 which it covers externally with grains of sand. 



There is a genus separated from it by Fabricius called Jlscalaphus. 



3. The HEMEROBINI of Latreille, which are similar to the Myr- 

 meleonidesin the general form of their body and wings; but their 

 antenna are filiform, and they have but four palpi. 



They form the genus 



HEMEROBIUS, Lin. Fab. 



The body of the true Hemerobii is soft, and the globular eyes are frequently 

 ornamented with metallic colours; the wings are large, and their exterior 

 border is widened. They fly slowly and heavily; several diffuse a strong 

 odour, with which the finger that has touched them remains for a long 

 time impregnated. 



The female deposits ten or twelve eggs on leaves; they are oval, white, 

 and secured by a very long and capillary pedicle. Some authors have 

 mistaken them for a species of mushroom. The larvae bear a considerable 

 resemblance to those of the preceding division; they are, however, more 

 elongated and errant. Reaumur calls them Lions des Pucerons, because 

 they feed on Aphides. They seize them with their horn-like mandibles, 

 and soon exhaust them by suction. Some form a thick case for themselves 

 of their remains, which gives them a very singular appearance. The 

 nymph is enclosed in a silken cocoon of an extremely close tissue, the 

 volume of which is very small when compared with that of the Insect. The 

 fusi of the larvae are situated at the posterior extremity of the abdomen, like 

 those of the larvae of the Myrmeleonides. 



H. perla, L. Green-yellow; eyes golden; wings transparent with entirely 

 green nervures. 



In others the first segment of the thorax is large, and the wings 

 are laid horizontally on the body; the palpi are filiform, and the last 

 joint is conical or almost cylindrical, and frequently shorter than the 

 preceding one. The larvae are aquatic. They form the genus 



SEMBLIS, Fab. 



Which is composed of three subgenera, viz. Corydalis, Chauliodes, and 

 Sialis. 



3 F 



