THE ANT-LION. 99 



Our last example of the earth-burrowing insects is a truly 

 remarkable one. I allude to the celebrated insect known as the 

 Ant-lion {Myrmeleott formicarius). In its mature state, it 

 presents nothing worthy of remark, except, perhaps, the ele- 

 gance of its form, and the delicacy of its wide gauzy wings, 

 .vhich much resemble those of a common Dragon-fly. But in 

 Its larval condition it is truly a wonderful being. 



Though predaceous, and feeding chiefly on the most active 

 insects, it is itself slow, and totally unable to chase them; and 

 were it not furnished with some quality which serves it in the 

 lieu of speed, it would soon die of hunger. The very look of the 

 larva is enough to make the observer marvel as to its method of 

 obtaining food. Thick, short, soft, and fleshy, the body is sup- 

 ported on six very feeble legs, of which the hinder pair only are 

 employed for locomotion, and these can only drag it slowly 

 backwards. From the front of the head project a pair of long, 

 slender, curved mandibles, which give the first intimation that 

 the grub has anything formidable in its nature. These mandi- 

 bles are curiously made, being deeply grooved throughout their 

 length, and permitting the maxillae, or inner pair of jaws, to 

 play up and down them. 



Inert and helpless as it may seem, this grub is a ruthless 

 destroyer of the more active insects, and, moreover, seldom 

 catches any but the most active. Choosing some sandy spot, 

 where the soil is as far as possible free from stones, it begins to 

 form the celebrated pitfalls by which it is enabled to entrap 

 ants and other insects. Depressing the end of its abdomen, and 

 crawling backwards in a circular direction, it traces a shallow 

 trench, the circle varying from one to three inches in diameter. 

 It then makes another round, starting just within the first circle, 

 and so it proceeds, continually scooping up the sand with its 

 head, and jerking it outside the limits of its trench. By con- 

 tinuing this process, and always tracing smaller and smaller 

 circles, the grub at last completes a conical pit, and then buries 

 itself in the sand, holding the mandibles widely extended. 



Should an insect, an ant, for example, happen to pass near 

 the pitfall, it will be sure to go and look into the cavity, partly 



