64 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 
it again, and I secured it in a pill box. On my arrival at home I provided 
a jar with a few inches of dry sand in the bottom, and placed the larva in 
it; itat once buried itself, and though I waited several hours, hoping to 
witness the commencement of its pitfall, there was no movement in that 
direction ; there was now and then a slight stir of the sand, and once or 
twice the head was thrust above the surface, but quickly withdrawn at the 
slightest movement on my part. I grew tired of watching and retired for 
the night, returning in the morning to find a completed pit. It was in the 
form of an inverted cone, about one and one-half inches in diameter and 
three-quarters deep, and as smooth as sand could be made. At the first 
glance I discovered no sign of the builder, but a closer inspection revealed 
a pair of mandibles and at the base of them a pair of eyes; the bearer 
of these was snugly ensconced in the sand. The mandibles were 
stretched to their widest capacity and resting against opposite sides of the 
pit, so harmonizing in color with the sand as not to be readily noticed. 
In this position the larva would rest for hours unless disturbed, when it 
would withdraw from sight, but soon reappear and resume its watch. 
My great interest, however, was in its method of taking its prey, and 
to witness this operation I provided a dozen or more ants of a small 
species, dropping them all into the pit at once; the larva with one sweep 
of its jaws secured three or four, and in a very short time killed or dis- 
abled them, but it soon dropped them and proceeded to kill most of the 
others before commencing its repast. Owing to their sluggish habit but 
very few succeeded in escaping. I was curious to see if the larva would 
attack as readily larger and more savage species, and the next day secured 
the largest specimens I could find of the Red Ant, Formica sanguinea ?— 
noted for its courage and ferocity. I dropped the largest of these on 
the sand in the jar, leaving it to find its way into the pit, which it soon 
did, hesitating a moment at the brink and then walking to the bottom. 
At the instant that the ant came within reach the larva closed its jaws 
upon one of its legs, and for a few moments I witnessed quite an excitin 
contest, the ant turning and twisting to find its adversary and biting 
savagely at everything within its reach, the larva endeavoring to draw far 
back into the sand, thereby protecting itself and pressing the ant so close 
to the surface as to allow but very little room for movement. The ant 
finally freed itself from the jaws of the larva, but did not at once succeed 
in leaving the pit ; the larva instantly almost entirely uncovered itself and 
slashed right and left with its mandibles, seeming to be in a perfect fury at 
