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in the soil; with its broad head it throws out sand, and by working 
steadily round in a spiral it gradually excavates a round pit, with sloping 
sides, and buries itself at the bottom. It then lies there motionless, its 
head at the bottom of the pit; should an unwary insect walk over the 
edge of the pit, the sloping sides impede its exit and the ant-lion throws 
sand at it by jerking its broad head. Sooner or later the insect comes 
within reach of the jaws and is seized, sucked out and the dried shell 
thrown out. Ants form a large part of its diet, as they are incessantly 
running over the soil, and the pits are apparently adapted to catch them; 
larger insects escape readily. This life is an interesting one and food 
appears to come only at long intervals. One might hold up this insect as 
a type of patience ; they are able to endure long fasts and an occasional 
ant every week or so is apparently sufficient to keep captive specimens 
alive. They live only in dry sand and make new pits if occasion arises. 
Near houses these pits are common, and when rain comes, or when the 
rainy season sets in, the new pits are made under the lee of the house 
where rain will not wet the sand. 
When the Pusa Laboratory was in course of erection, there were 
numerous pits in the dry sand spread over the newly floored verandahs ; 
the reason they were there was apparently that the sand was dry, all the 
outside earth being soaked with the rains, but what food these insects got 
was not apparent as no insects were found there. 
Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the sand or soil near the pit; 
the pupa has mandibles with which it can cut through the cocoon which 
consists of silk and particles of sand. It is noticeable that this silk is 
produced from the apex of the abdomen. The length of the life history 
is not known; imagos are found at all times from March to November. 
The imago flies clumsily but swiftly, and though nocturnal, is frequently 
seen flying in the day in long grass. An unpleasant odour is diffused 
from their bodies when they are handled, not an aromatic odour as in 
the Hemiptera but an unpleasant one, suggesting carrion. Light is an 
attraction and many can be caught in houses and at light. A number 
of species occur in India, but the usual darkness seems to shroud their 
nomenclature and classification. Two species of Palpares , seven of 
Myrmeleo and one of Formicaleo have been described from India by 
Rambur (1842) and Gerstacker (1893 and 1884). Myrmeleon singulare , 
