. Nature sketches in temperate America, a series of sketches and a popular account of insects, birds, and plants, treated from some aspects of their evolution and ecological relations . ame kind of insects. The ant-lion usually waxes fat on these sumptuous meals, hisbody being kept well nourished. It is not uncommon for himto take long fasts, and he can go a great length of time withouttaking water. At all times he is concealed from view, beingdisinclined to show his soft body for fear of attack. I once ANIMAL BEIIAMOR, WITH EXAMPLES 179 exposed an individual by quickly pulling on a beetU- lar
. Nature sketches in temperate America, a series of sketches and a popular account of insects, birds, and plants, treated from some aspects of their evolution and ecological relations . ame kind of insects. The ant-lion usually waxes fat on these sumptuous meals, hisbody being kept well nourished. It is not uncommon for himto take long fasts, and he can go a great length of time withouttaking water. At all times he is concealed from view, beingdisinclined to show his soft body for fear of attack. I once ANIMAL BEIIAMOR, WITH EXAMPLES 179 exposed an individual by quickly pulling on a beetU- larva ithad just captured, when, rather than sacrifice its prey, itsutiered itself to be drawn out of its lair. At other times Ihave drawn them out by practising a little trick with a straw,carefully iruilating an insect shding into the pit. If the ant-lion is very hungry he will seize the end between his jaws andin this way he can be drawn out. One not familiar with the appearance of the ant-lion minhtimagine from the scientific name that it has some allusion tothe beast of prey, lie certainly does net share the slightestresemblance, but possesses unic^ue characters quite his An Ant-lion and its cocoon. as the drawing illustrations show. Its body in the larva state,such as is found in the pits, is admirably adapted for diggingin the sand. It is depressed, somewhat stout, and presents aformidable looking head, bearing long, flattened forceps orjaws with three teeth on each side, in the species figured jaws are also provided with bristles, which act as a legs are slender, and a remarkable hinge exists between thefirst and second thoracic joints. The latter mechanism isused in jerking the sand out of the pits. Appreciation of thisfact may be gained bj^ taking a recently killed ant-lion betweenthe finger and thumb and slightly compressing the abdomen,when the muscular action, such as is witnessed in life whenthrowing the sand out of the pit, will be rei)eated
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Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectins
