LION-ANT. 
379 
chance of success, being less calculated for mov- 
ing forwards than in the contrary direction; there- 
fore what he wants in agility he is obliged to 
make up by stratagem : for this purpose he pre- 
pares a trap, into which the unwary insects fall, and 
become an easy prey to their formidable antagonist. 
The body of the animal bears some resemblance to 
a spider ; it is of a dirty brown colour, marked with 
black spots, and composed of several flat rings 
which slide over each other: many small tufts of 
dusky hair appear on each side of the abdomen. 
The head of this singular insect is small, and the 
jaws long, curved, about the sixth of an inch in 
length, and provided with sharp-pointed teeth on 
their internal surfaces. His sight is very quick ; 
for he starts from the smallest object that he dis- 
covers, if it is at all calculated to injure him. 
When the lion-ant intends to prepare an ambus- 
cade, he chooses a bed of dry sand at the foot of 
a wall, or in some secure situation where he can be 
defended from wind and weather. He is obliged 
to make use of the driest sand he can get, because a 
solid soil, as well as a moist sand, would not prove 
tractable under his operations. When he intends 
to hollow the trench where he ensnares his game, 
he bends the hinder part of his body, which tapers 
into a point, and then plunges it into the sand, 
which he throws up in his rear; and thus, by repeat- 
ing his efforts and taking several rounds, he at last 
traces out a circular furrow, whose diameter always 
equals the depth to which he intends to sink it. 
