. Marvels of insect life [microform] : a popular account of structure and habit. Insects; Insectes. Marvels of Insect Life. thi'iv is no channt'l for it. Nature has bt-en so careful that the ant-lion's pit should not be polluted by such waste, that arranjiements have been made for its retention in the hind-body. It is not until the ant-lion fly emerges from the chrysalis that it is j,'ot rid of. The full-grown ant-lion is provided with a spinning apparatus on the hind-body, with which, when it feels that its feeding days ap- over, it elaborates a c(x'oon beneath the sand, in which it changes t
. Marvels of insect life [microform] : a popular account of structure and habit. Insects; Insectes. Marvels of Insect Life. thi'iv is no channt'l for it. Nature has bt-en so careful that the ant-lion's pit should not be polluted by such waste, that arranjiements have been made for its retention in the hind-body. It is not until the ant-lion fly emerges from the chrysalis that it is j,'ot rid of. The full-grown ant-lion is provided with a spinning apparatus on the hind-body, with which, when it feels that its feeding days ap- over, it elaborates a c(x'oon beneath the sand, in which it changes to a chrysalis. It still has a pair of mandibles, but these are much shortened, and intended to enable it to cut through the cocoon just before thV winged fly is ready to emerge. It is strange that in places where the ant-lion is quite plentiful its fly should be rarely seen. This may be due to retiring habits, or possibly few of the " lions " manage to complete their development to the winged stage. More than three hundred different species of ant-lions are at present known, but they are not all makers of pitfalls. Some of them lead ^ roving life among grass and undergrowtli. lying in wait for their prey. Some of these wanderers, having no necessity for dry sand, are found in quite damp places. The species are found widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions, and one is found as far north as Southern Sweden, though none is found in Britain. The related families of the ascalaphids and nemopterids are ver\' similar in form to the ant-lioii>. but the larva' do not make pitfalls. The winged asca- laphus is still more like ;t dragon-fly in build, but has clubbed antenns much longer than those of the ant-lion fly. Xemoptera is a jK-'culiarly graceful fly, for its hinder wings are narrow, strap-shaped, and of extraordinary length. The mouth is formed into a beak, something like that of the scorpion-fly. Several species occur in the Medi- terranean region. An ext
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1915
