THE ANT-LION. 213 



three times larger and heavier than its own body, it 

 must have recourse to other means of removal. The 

 larger stones it usually leaves till the last, and when 

 it has removed all the sand which it intends, it then 

 proceeds to try what it can do with the less manage- 

 able obstacles. For this purpose, it crawls backwards 

 to the place where a stone may be, and thrusting its 

 tail under it, is at great pains to get it properly 

 balanced on its back, by an alternate motion oi' the 

 rings composing its body. When it has succeeded 

 in adjusting the stone, it crawls up the side of the 

 pit with great care and deposits its burden on the 

 outside of the circle. Should the stone happen to be 

 round, the balance can be kept only with the greatest 

 difficulty, as it has to travel with its load upon a 

 slope of loose sand, which is ready to give way at 

 every step ; and often when the insect has carried it to 

 the very brink it rolls off its back and tumbles down 

 to the bottom of the pit. This accident, so far from 

 discouraging the ant-lion, only stimulates it to more 

 persevering efforts. Bonnet observed it renew these 

 attempts to dislodge a stone, five or six times. It 

 is only when it finds it utterly impossible to succeed, 

 that it abandons the design and commences another 

 pit in a fresh situation. When it succeeds in getting 

 a stone beyond the line of its circle, it is not contented 

 with letting it rest there ; but to prevent it from again 

 rolling in, it goes on to push it to a considerable 

 distance. 



The pitfall, when finished, is usually about three 

 inches in diameter at the lop, about two inches deep, 

 and gradually contracting into a point in the manner 

 of a cone or funnel. In the bottom of this pit the 

 ant-lion stations itself to watch for its prey. Should an 

 ant or any other insect wander within the verge of the 

 funnel, it can scarcely fail to dislodce and roll down 

 some particles of sand, which will give notice to the 



