348 THE ANT-LION. 



In its larva state, this creature obtains its food only 

 by stratagem. His usual situation is in a dry sandy 

 soil, under some old wall or other protection from 

 the wind. Here he forms a pit of the shape of a 

 funnel. If this is only to be small, he thrusts him- 

 self backward pretty deep, and artfully throws out 

 the loose sand, which has fallen in upon him, be- 

 yond the edges of the hollow, and at the bottom 

 he then lies concealed. It it is to be of greater ex- 

 tent, he begins by first tracing in the surface of the 

 sand a tolerably large circle, which is to form its 

 base. He then gets under the sand near the edge, 

 and, proceeding backwards in a spiral direction, 

 carefully throws up all the particles that fall upon 

 his body beyond the circumference of the circle : 

 this he continues till he arrives at the apex of the 

 cone he has thus formed. His long neck, and flat 

 head, he uses as a spade - 3 and the strength of these 

 parts is so great that he is able to throw off at 

 once a considerable quantity of sand to even six 

 inches distance. 



His pit being finished, he buries himself among 

 the sand at the bottom, leaving only his horns visi- 

 ble. Here he patiently waits for his prey. When 

 an ant or any other small insect happens to walk 

 over the edges of the hollow, its steps force down 

 some of the particles, which gives the Ant-lion no- 

 tice of its presence. He immediately throws up 

 the sand which covers his head, to overwhelm the 

 ant, and, with its returning force, bring it to the bot- 

 tom : this he continues to do till the insect is over- 

 come, and falls between his horns. Every endea- 



