THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
129 
of this insect is incomplete. Those insects 
having four membranous naked wings lying 
horizontally upon the body are embraced in 
the order Eymenopiera. Bees, wasps and 
ants are of this order, and undergo a com- 
plete transformation. The Thysanoptera 
have not received much attention from nat- 
uralists, there being but few insects of this 
order yet discovered. The JSfeuroptera is an 
order comprised chiefly of dragon flies, and 
presents the greatest number of modifica- 
tions of form of any order known. The 
easiest preserved order is the Goleoptera, 
and in large collections this order usually 
holds the first place. About one hundred 
and thirty thousand species are already 
found, and constant additions are made to 
this order, which embraces beetles of all 
kinds. 
The orders Goleoptei^a and Lepidoptera are 
almost sure to be the first to attract the 
attention of the young student, and in a 
brief review we will consequently notice 
these orders before taking up the others. 
Let us first examine a caterpillar, which 
is an imperfect insect of the order Lepidop- 
tera. We will find the body to be com- 
posed of twelve segments or parts. First 
is the head, containing the mouth and six 
simple eyes. Next comes the three seg- 
ments which are to constitute the thorax of 
the perfect insect, be it moth or butterfly, 
containing the six true legs. The rest of 
the segments constitute the abdomen. The 
legs on these parts are not true legs, but 
simply organs of locomotion, armed with 
minute hooks, by which a firm hold is ob- 
tained to a twig or leaf. Nearly all cater- 
pillars feed on plants, the exceptions being 
those that infest our furs and woolen 
fabrics. After attaining its full growth, the 
caterpillar ceases to eat, and prepares for 
the wonderful change that is about to take 
place. The intestinal canal is emptied of 
all vegetable matter, and its colors lose 
their brilliancy. The pupa state is now 
entered upon in one of three manners, de- 
pending on the species: either by suspend- 
ing itself by the tail to a leaf or branch, 
and by a series of convulsions, emerging a 
chrysalis; or by spinning a cocoon of silk 
around itself, and undergoing the change 
inside the cocoon; or by burrowing in the 
soft earth and entering the pupa state un- 
derground. These astonishing and won- 
derful changes will form the most attractive 
and instructive department of the study of 
the insect world. 
To he continued. 
The Ant Lion. 
IN a recent number we gave an account 
of the very singular method by which 
the archer fish secured its prey. Amongst 
the hunters of this class, the ant lion occu- 
pies a prominent position, and an account 
of it cannot fail to interest our readers. 
This ravenous little insect is endowed by 
nature with superior intelligence, and dis- 
plays great skill and cunning in the entrap- 
ping and securing of its prey. Having de- 
termined upon a suitable site, generally a 
clear sandy space under the shade of some 
shrub or boulder, it begins the construc- 
tion of a minature pitfall by first thrusting 
THE ANT LION. 
its long jaws and flat head underneath the 
grains of sand, and then by a sudden up- 
ward jerk tossing them several inches be- 
yond the edge of the pit. This operation 
is repeated until a funnel-shaped hole is 
excavated, as shown in the plate, the sides 
of which are as steep as the shifting nature 
of the sand will allow. 
When completed, the ingenious little 
builder conceals his body at the bottom, 
leaving only the extended jaws exposed. 
Here he awaits patiently until the uncon- 
scious victim, generally some smaller insect, 
approaches the edge of the ambuscade, 
