30 



Gen its L. MYRMELEON. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Antenna short and thickening towards the end. 

 Mouth armed with mandibles, and jaws. 

 Palpi six. Stemmata none. Wings deflected. 

 Tail in the male, armed with forceps. Tarsi 

 with five articulations. 



General Observations. 



The species of this genus resemble in some 

 degree the Libelluke, but are not, in general, 

 so light or elegant. They couple in the sum- 

 mer, and the female deposits her oblong eggs 

 in dry and shady places. From one of the spe- 

 cies proceeds a larva, of which several Natu- 

 ralists, especially Reaumur and Roesel, have 

 given a particular and detailed account. The 

 Myrmehon Formicarium, or Lion- Ant, is an 

 insect living by rapine, but in its larva state 

 denied the pow 7 er of pursuit. This want it sup- 

 plies by stratagem, and selecting the driest sand 

 it can meet with, forms a hollow like the ca- 

 vity of a funnel, at the bottom of which the 



