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Show 66 INSECTA. PANORPA, Lat. . . 1 · in the preceding genus; but the The wmgs and Slmp e eyes as . '1 1 1 . t minated by an arttculated tat, a most abdomen of the rna es. lS er. the extremity; that of like that of the ScorpiOns, With a forceps at f d d . . t The legs of both sexes are o a mo e-the females en s m a P010 • • f th t · t I ngth with two hooks and a pellet at the extremity o e arsi. rae e P. c~mmunis, L.; De Geer, Insect., II, xxiv, 34. F~om seven . h I' . le gtl1· black. rostrum and extremlty of the to e1g t mes 10 n ' ' h d d · abdomen russet; wings spotted with black.-On e ges an In woods( I). In others, the first segment of the thorax is large, and seems a~one to form that part, the two following ones being covered by the WI~1gs in the males. The wings are subulate, recurved at the extremity, shorter than the abdomen, and wanting in the females where that part of the body is terminated by an acinaciform ovipositor. BonEus, Lat. 'fhe only species of this genus known is the . B. hiemalis; Part01'Jla hiemalis, L.; Gryllus probosctdeus, Panz .. , Faun. Insect. Germ., XXII, 18. It is found in winter, under moss, in the north of Europe and in the Alps(2). 2. The MYRM:ELEONIDES, which also have five joints in the tarsi, but their head is not prolonged anteriorly in the form of a rostrum or snout; their antennre gradually enlarge or have a globuliform termination. Their head is transverse, vertical, and merely presents the ordinary eyes, which are round and prominent; there are six pal pi, those of the labium usually longer than the others, and inflated at the extremity. The palate of the mouth is ele· vated in the form of an epiglottis ; the first segment of the thorax is small ; the wings are equal, elongated, and tecti· form; the abdomen is most frequently long and cylindrical, (1} For the other species, see Lat., Oliv., lb., article Panorpe, and Leach, Zoot. Miscell., xciv. (2) Oliv., lb., artie!~, lb. NEUROPTERA. 67 with two salient appendages at its extremity In the males. The legs are short. They are found in the warm localities of the southern countries, clinging to plants, where they remain quiescent during the day. Most of them :fly well. The nymph is inactive. These Insects form the genus MYRMELEoN, Lin. Of which Fabricius has made two. MYRMELEON, Fab. 01· Myrmeleon proper, where the antennre enlarge insensibly, are almost fusiform, are hooked at the extremity, and much shorter than the body; the abdomen is long and linear. M.formicarium, L.; Rres., Insect., III, xvii-xx. About an inch long; blackish spotted with yellowish; wings diaphanous, with black nervures picked in with white; some obscure spots, and one whitish, near the extremity of the anterior margin( I). The number of Ants destroyed by the larva of this species, which is the most common one in Europe, has obtained for it the name of Formica-leo, Lion-ant, or FourmUion. Its abdomen is extremely voluminous in comparison to the rest of the body. Its head is very small, flattened, and armed with two long mandibles in the form of horns, dentated on the inner side and pointed at the extremity, which act at once as pincers and suckers. Its body is greyish or of the colour of the sand in which it lives. Although provided with six feet, it moves very slowly and almost always backwards. Thus, not being able to seize its prey by the celerity of its motions, it has recourse to stratagem, and lays a trap for it in a funnel-shaped cavity which it excavates in the finest sand, at the foot of a tree, old walls, or acclivities exposed to the south. It arrives at the intended scene of its operations by forming a ditch, and traces the area of the funnel, the size of which is in proportion to its growth. Then, always moving backwards, and describing as it goes spiral convolutions, the diameter of which progressively dimin- (1) For the other species,· see Lat., Gen. Crust. et Insect., Ul, p. 190; Oliv., Encyc. Method., article Myrmeleon. See also, both for this and the following genus, the work of M. Toussaint Charpentiel', already quoted. |
