NEUUOPTERA. 



r,'7 



77 



THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE NEUROPTERA,— 

 Thk Planipennes, — 



^yhie^^ composes, \vith the following;, the greater portion of the order Synistata of Fahricius, com- 

 prises those Neuroptcra wliich have the antenna3 always composed of a great jiumher of joints, and 

 longer than the head ; the mandibles are distinct, and the lower wings nearly equal to the upper, 

 extended, or simply folded under at the inner edge. 



They have generally the wings very much reticulated and naked, with the maxillary palpi ordinarily 

 filiform, or rather thickened at the ti})s, shorter than tlic head, and compMsed of four or live joints. 



I shall divide this family into iive sections, composing, on account of their hahits, so many small 

 distinct suli-families. 



1. The PaiiovpaUe of Latrcihe, which have five joints in all the tarsi, anrl the anterior extremity 

 of the head prolonged, aud narrowed in the form of a beak or rostrum. They constitute the genus 



Panorpa, Linnaeus, — 

 And have the antennse setaceous, and inserted between the eyes ; the clypeus prolonged into a 

 corneous conical plate, grooved beneath to receive the mouth ; tlie mandibles, maxilla;, and lower lip 

 nearly linear ; four ur six short filiform palpi ; those of the nuixilla; appearing to me to consist of only 

 four joints. The body is long, the liead vertical, the first segment of the thorax very small and collar- 

 like. The two sexes differ greatly iii many species. Their transformations have not been observed, 



Nemoptcya,'hair.yO\\\.,\\ast\\Q hind-wing's exceedingly long and linear, and the ocelli are wanting. These 

 singular insects have hitherto heen on]y observed in the hottest parts of Europe, Africa, and the adjacent parts of 

 Asia. [See the recent monograph of KUig in the Berlin Transacf/oiis.] 



Bittacus, Latr., has the four wings of eiiua! size, as well as ocelli ; the aLidonicn is alike in both sexes, and the 

 legs long and terminated by a single tarsal unguis. [Exotic species.] 



Panorpa, Latr., has wings and ocelli like those of Bittacus, but the abdomen of the male is terminated by a 

 long, jointed, recurved tail, with a claw at the tip ; and that of the female is long, and pointed at the tip. The legs 

 , and the tarsi have t«o ungues. 



Panorjia communis, Linn., is a very abundant species, found in hedges and woods. 

 [Several other British species,] 



Boreusy Latr., differs from the preceding in the large size of the prothorax ; the 

 wings of the males are short, curved, and awl-shaped, and the females are wingless. 

 The only species, ii. AiV^/HflZ/i, Linn., is found in winter under moss in the north of 

 Enrope, and on the Alps. [It is small, and has occurred, but rarely, in this country.] 



2. The }fyriiic'leonide^, having also five joints in the tarsi, but in which 

 the head is not prolonged in the form of a beak or muzzle, and the antenme 

 are thickened at the tips. The liead is transverse and vertical, having only 

 compound eyes, which are round and prominent ; six palpi, those of tlie 

 labium being longer than the others, aud thickened at the tips ; the first segment of the thorax is 

 small; the wings of equal size, long, and roof-like ; the abdomen mostly long and cylindric, with two 

 filiform appendages at its extremity, in the males; the legs are short. They inhabit hot situations iu 

 the southern climates of both hemispheres, cUnging to plants, where they remain stationary during the 

 day. They fly swiftly. Their pu])te are inactive. These insects compose the genus 



Fig. I07.-Pano.| 





Myrmeleon, Linn., — 



AVhich Fnbricins has divided into two. 



Myrmeleon proper, has the antennae gradually thick- 

 ened, curved at the tips, and much shorter than the 

 body, and the abdomen is long and linear. 



The destruction which the larva of the common Eu- 

 ropean species makes amongst Ants, has gained for it 

 the name of the Ant Lion. Its abdomen is very large, 

 ^ proportioned to the rest of its body; its head is very 

 siLiall, and armed with two long horn-like mandibles, 

 toothed on the inside and pointed at the tip, which serve 

 it both for pinchers and suckers. Although furnishea 

 with six legs it walks but slowly, almost always oacR- 

 wards: not being able, therefore, to follow its prey, .c 

 resorts to stratagem, and forms in the sano a comcMi 



P P 



