THE ANT-LION. 195 



with rank vegetation as to be quite dark, access is 

 with some difficulty obtained to the basal floor of 

 the mill, which is covered with a layer of impalpable 

 sand, the residuum, no doubt, of the water that shot 

 upon it when the wheel was in operation. The 

 flooring planks of the upper level have been removed, 

 leaving only the rafters ; and the walls of the mill con- 

 sist now of scarcely more than the posts and beams, so 

 that sufficient light descends to the lower level not- 

 withstanding its depth. Here I found many little 

 conical pits in the fine sand, which upon examina- 

 tion proved to be the traps formed by the grubs of 

 a species of Ant-lion {Myrmeleon), and inhabited by 

 them. The appearance of the crafty insect, its mo- 

 tionless vigilance at the bottom of its den, the curved 

 tubular jaws expanded to their utmost stretch, and the 

 broad body concealed in the sand ; the alertness dis- 

 played when an unfortunate ant slipped over the edge, 

 the struggles of the prey to escape, the reiterated 

 showers of sand vigorously cast up from the head of the 

 expectant Giant Grim, and falling on the miserable 

 victim, and the slow but sure sliding down of the 

 latter, until the formidable jaws closed upon it; — 

 I observed with intense pleasure, not only for the 

 interest attached to so curious an example of insect 

 cunning, but also for that of repeating observations 

 long ago made in a distant part of the world, and, no 

 doubt, on another species. The manners of these 

 Jamaican Ant-lions agreed minutely with those of 

 the Myrmeleon forviicarius of the South of France, 

 as recorded by the accurate Reaumur. 



The singularity of the spot chosen in this case for 



