5/8 INSECTA. 



pit-fail, by crawlin^r backwards in a spiral direction nnd tlirowin;x out the sand witli its iiead, and at tlie bottrim 

 of whicli it stations itself, leaving oniy its jaws exposed, its body being buried in the sand, and tlius ■waitin;^- 

 patiently until an insect falls to tlie bottom of the pit, when it is instantly seized by tlie jaws and suclted to death ; 

 if it endeavours to escape, the Ant Lion showers sand after it, which rarely fails to bring' it to the bottom of the 

 pit. TliC nutritive fluid thus obtained is never converted into excrement, the insect having no orifice analogous 

 to thr iiniis, When fidl irrown, and ready to assume the pupa state, it spins a perfectly round cocoon of a silky 

 matter, the exterior of which it covers witli sand. Its spinnerets are placed at the extremity of the bndy. The 

 jierfect insect makes its appearance at the end of (ifteen or twenty days, leaving the exuviiE of the juipa m tlie 

 opening it has made in tli'"' cncoun. 



The comnion European species, M. foymirnrliim, Linn, [wliich has n-^it, 

 lin\vf\ ei", beeti discovered in England], is aljout an inch long, with t!ie 

 wings transparent, with black veins dotted with white, and wdtli dark 

 spots, one of a whitish colour near the anterior extremity. [The species 

 are very numerous]. 

 Ascalaphu, Fab., has the antennie long, and suddcidy terniiTiated by a 

 F;,'. lOLi.- HI, fnniik- iriuiii. knob, with the abdomen oblong, oval, and scarcely longer than the 



thorax. The wings are shorter and broader than in Myrmeleon. 

 Bonnet observed a larva near Gi'neva similar to that of iMyrraeleon, but which neither crawled backwards nor 

 formed a pit. The posterior extremity of its body was furnished with a bifid plate, truncated behind. This lan'a 

 is probably that of Ascal. italicus, a south of Euruiie species, which begins to be found in France in the environs 

 of Fontainebleau. [This is probably doubltul, the hirva b(.'ing more likely to be that of Myr. Lihdluloides. See my 

 Jntrod. to Mod. Classif. of Insects, ii. p. 45, in which I have figufL-d a larva of Ascalaphus, and subsequently 

 Mr. Swainson has figured that of .lic Madcayaniu;, from L. Guilding's drawings.] 



3. The Hemerohii, Latr., similar to the preceding in the general form of the body and wings, but 

 \vith fiiiform antenna; and only four iialpi. They form the genus 



Hemerobius, Linn., — 

 Some of which have the protliorax very small, the wings roof-hke, the last joint of the palpi thickest, 

 ovoid, and pointed. The larvx are terrestrial. 



Hemerobins proper, has the eyes globose and brilliantly mctaUic, the wings large and detlexed. They tly slowly, 

 and many of them emit a disgusting scent. The females deposit their eggs upon leaves, to the number of ten or 

 twelve, fixing each of them by a long and very slender footstalk. The larvte resemble those of Myrmeleon, but are 

 more elongate, and are wanderers. Tliey feed upon the plant-lice, which they seize with their mandibles, and suck 

 their juices, destroying them very quickly. The pupa is inclosed in a cocoon of close silk, spun from the anus 

 of the laira. Hemerobins {Chrysopa, Leach,) Perla, Linn,, is pale yellowish-green, with golden eyes, transparent 

 wings, and green nerves. [A common species in this country]. 



Osmi/lun, Leach, is composed of those species which possess three ocelh, of which the preceding are destitute. 

 H. maculattiSf Fabr., [a local British species, of large size]. 



Nymphcs, Leach, founded upon an Australian species, has the same character, but the antennre are filiform and 

 shorter. \_N. miinHcloon'idcs, Leach.] 



The others have tliu lirst segment of the thorax large and corselet-like, the wings generally carried 

 flat on the hack, and the palpi filiform, with the terminal segment conieal or nearly cyliudric, and often 

 shorter than the preceding. Their larvoe are aquatic. 



Semblis, Fabr., is comjiosed of the genera Con/da/is, C/iaidiodes, and Slalis, Latr. 



Corydatis, is distinguished by the mandibles, which ai'e very large and like horns in the* males. [C cornitfa, a 

 North American insect.] 



ChaiiUodes, Latr., has the autennie pectinated ; and 



Sial/s, has ordinary-sized mandibles, and the antennce are simple and the wings roof-like. S. lufarhis, Linn., 

 [the May-fly, a well-known bait for anglers]. The larva lives in the water, and creeps or swims slowly, like those 

 of the Ephemei-,!' : it has false branchia? at the sides of the abdomen, aud the tail is elongated into a point ; but it 

 changes into ari iii;irti\c |Mipa. 



4. Another division, that of the Termifmce, is composed of Neuroptera which undergo demi-meta- 

 morphoses, all being terrestrial, active, carnivorous or omnivorous, in all their stages. If we except 

 Manthpa, (distnict iv^wn all the insects of the order in the form of the fore-legs, resembling those of 

 Mantis), the tarsi have at most four juints, which distinguishes them from the preceding genera of the 

 same family. The mandibles are always strung and horny, the hind wings are of the size of the fore 

 wings, and without folds, or are smaller. 



Some have from live to three joints in the tarsi, the labial palpi exsertcd and distinct, and the an- 

 tennae multiarticulate. 



Mantispa, lUig., has five joints in all the tarsi ; the forr4rgs formed as in Mantis ; the antennre arv very short, 



