72 GRAMMAR OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



HISTORY OF THE ANT-LION.' 



Class Neuroptera. i Genus Myrmeleon. 



Order Myrmeleonites. I Species Formicaleo. 



227. THE ant-lion is a native of Portugal, 

 Spain, France, Italy, and Turkey, and, probably, 

 of most of the tropical countries : it is a large fly 

 with four long wings, beautifully reticulated, like 

 those of a common dragon-fly. 



228. The egg is laid by this fly on the surface 

 of the ground, or just below it, in sandy and loose 

 soils ; the heat of the sun soon causes it to hatch 

 and produce a larva. 



229. The larva, in shape, has a slight resem- 

 blance to a wood-louse ; but the outline of its 

 body is more triangular, the anterior part being 

 considerably wider than the posterior : it has six 

 legs, and the mouth is furnished with a pair of 

 forceps, consisting of two incurved jaws, which 

 give it a formidable appearance. 



* From KIRBY and SPENCE'S Introduction to Entomology. 



