74 APPLE LEAVES, APHIS LIONS DEVOUK WORMS AND SPIDERS. 



found, small inch-worms (Geometrid^), about 0.15 long were 

 hatched from them. The aphis-lion was at this time reposing at 

 the top of the vial when one of these worms approached him. It 

 was instantly seized, and the contents of its skin were sucked out 

 with avidity, and he now commenced searching for another worm, 

 probing every crevice in the cork stopper with his long jaws, and 

 then walking down the vial, examining from side to side as he 

 ' went along, until he came to the leaf at its bottom, now curled, 

 and shrivelled. He first crawled through every fold of this and 

 then wandered over its surface, till coming to another worm, it 

 was instantly seized. Thus sixteen of these newly-born inch- 

 worms were consumed a,s fast as he could find them. They were 

 seized indifferently by whatever part of their bodies was first ac- 

 cessible, and he was occupied four or five minutes in sucking out 

 the fluids of each worm. As the skin became empty it was folded 

 together, and rolled about between the tips of his jaws in a little 

 wad, until the last particle of juice which it contained was ex- 

 hausted. The skin was then adroitly wiped off from the tips of 

 his jaws, and he started off in search of another worm, always 

 carrying his head down close to the surface on which he was 

 walking. Sometimes on coming to a skin which had already 

 been sucked, it was taken up and rolled between the tips of his 

 jaws again, as if to ascertain whether he had done his work well. 

 When occupied in sucking a worm he stood still, adhering more 

 by means of his tail than his feet, and there was a pulsating mo- 

 tion to his body indicating the satisfaction he felt in the act in 

 which he was engaged. If another worm approached so near as 

 to touch him at this time, he gave a sudden spiteful shrug, where- 

 by it was frightened away. Only three worms j remained when I 

 introduced into the vial a cocoon of spider's eggs, with some of 

 the young spiders hatched and crawling about the cocoon. These 

 were immediately discovered by the aphis-lion, and leaving the 

 worms he commenced devouring these small spiders in the same 

 manner, each spider occupying him about half the length of time 

 one of the worms did. The fine cobweb of the spiders appeared 

 to adhere closely to his jaws, and to wipe this off, after finishing 

 one spider, and before seeking another, he thrust his jaws repeat- 

 edly into ' the cocoon. Thus quite a number of the spiders were 



