The Ant-Lion. 575 
giddy fly falls into the deathful pit. Then all his skill 
is put in requisition ; he throws out, by the shaking of 
his large jaws, a great quantity of sand upon the insect, 
to prevent its climbing up the steep sides of the hole ; 
and when the prey appears strong and nimble, he gives 
such a general commotion, that the whole construction 
crumbles down, and the unfortunate insect, overwhelmed 
with the ruins, falls into the jaws of the Ant-lion, which 
open like a pair of forceps. When the Ant-lion has 
sucked out the blood and inside of his prey, he takes it 
upon his head, and, by a sudden jerk, throws the car- 
case to a distance from his abode. When the larva has 
attained its full size, it spins for itself a cocoon of white 
shining silk, with an external covering of sand. In 
about three weeks there bursts from this pupa case 
a slender-waisted winged insect, which, after fluttering 
about for a few weeks, and depositing eggs in the sand, 
resigns its life. The winged insect resembles a beau- 
tiful dragon-fly ; it has a head of a chestnut colour ; the 
body is of a pearly grey, the legs short, and the wings, 
which resemble the finest lace, are beautifully marked 
with dark lines and spots. This fly is often seen flutter- 
ing about the sides of roads and dry banks exposed to 
the east, in the months of June and July ; it continues 
for a little time, and then entirely disappears. The Ant- 
lion is not found in this country ; but in the south of 
France and Italy there is not a bank on the sides of a 
public road, or a sandy ridge at the foot of an old wall, 
which does not harbour a great number of these insects. 
