KEUROPTERA. 
63 
soons hardens on exposure to the air. By-and-by she 
affixes a small egg, which she fastens by another drop 
of the secreted fluid, to the extremity of the thread. 
Beautiful in form, structure, and colour as the Lace¬ 
wing is, it generally has a most offensive odour, which 
it readily imparts to the hand that has hold of it, and 
which is more easily acquired than got rid of. The 
larva spins a small round cocoon, in which it developes 
its pupal and imago states. The Hemerobiidce are 
allied to the Myrrnelionidw or Ant-lions, whose curious 
little larvae, possessed of a formidable pair of jaws, ex¬ 
cavate hollow pits in sandy places inhabited by them, in 
which they conceal themselves with the exception of 
the head and jaws, and lie in wait for prey; should an 
unlucky insect or larva slip into this sandy hole, the 
Ant-lion is soon down upon him and sucks his juices; 
should he attempt to beat a retreat by climbing the 
sides of the pit, the Ant-lion throws up showers of 
sand, and quickly brings him down. 
The Panorbidoe , or Scorpion-flies, so called from a 
curious pincer-like appendage at the end of the tail, 
exactly like that of the scorpion, have also a peculiar 
head, which is prolonged below into a beak, at the end 
of which the mouth is situated. The most common British 
species and type of the family is Panorba communis, 
generally found in hedges (Plate II., Fig. 3). They are 
predaceous in their habits, feeding upon other insects, and 
probably are beneficial in this respect. The tail-forceps 
which the insect is fond of displaying in threatening 
attitudes, seems to say, “ Noli me tangere” to the 
insect collector ; it is, however, powerless to hurt. The 
other British genus, B oreus, contains only one species, 
