| OCR Text |
Show 68 INSECTA. . . h d 'th sand by means of one of its anterior ishes 1t loads 1ts ea Wl d . ' . . d' t ce In this manner, an sometlmes ~ t and Jerks lt to a lS an . . ee ' f h lf hour it will remove a reversed cone of m the space o a an ' · f h sand the base of w hl.C h I.S eq"... al in diameter to that o t e ·a rea, and the he.t ght t o ab ou t three-fourths of th. e same.. Hid. den 'b and qu1. escent at t h e b o tto m of its retreat, w1th noI thmg v. 1s1 le but its mandibles, it awaits with patience ti11 an nsect Is pre· cipitated into it; if it endeavour to escape, or be at too great a di• stance IJ!O r l• t to sei• ze, 1't showers upon it. such a t.o rrent of sand by means o f I. ts h ea d and mandibles ' as prope.l s 1t stunnedd a n. d defenceless to the bottom of the hole. Havmg exhaus:e tts J.U .l ces b y sue t't on, it drags away the carcass and leaves 1t at a distance from its domicil. . The nutritive matter it thus obtains is not converted mto a~y percept!'b l e excr ement, neither is this larva-and su.c h also 11 the case with several others-provided with an openmg an~lo· gous to an anus. It can abstain from food for a long period without any apparent suffering. . . When about to pass into the state of a chrysahs, It encloses itself in a perfectly round cocoon, formed of a sill~y subs.tance of the colour of satin, which it covers externally with grams or sand. Its fusi are situated at the posterior extremity of .the body. The perfect Insect makes its appearance at the expm· tion of fifteen or twenty days, and leaves its exuvium at the aperture it has effected in its cocoon. AsoALAPHus, Fab. Where the antennre are long and terminate abruptly in a button; the abdomen forms an oblong oval, and is hardly longer than the thorax. The wings are proportionally wider than those of the Myrme-leones, and not so long. Bonnet has observed, in the environs of Geneva, a larva simi· lar to that of the preceding subgenus, but which neither move! backwards nor excavates a funnel. The posterior extremity o( its abdomen is furnished with a bifid plate truncated at the end(l). It is perhaps the larva of the .ll.scalaphus italicus, peculiar to the south of Europe, and which now begins to appear in the neighbourhood of Paris and Fontainebleau(2). (1) This larva has also been found in Dalmatia by Count Dejean. (2) The same works. For some species of New Holland, see Leach, Zoo!· Miscellany. NEUROPTERA. 69 3. The H:tMEROBINI of Latreille, which are similar to the Myrmeleonides in the general form of their body and wings; but their antennre are filiform, and they have but four palpi. They form the genus HEMEROBius, Lin. Fab. In some, the first segment of the trunk is very small, and the wings are tectiform; the last joint of the palpi is thickest, ovoid and pointed. The larvre are terrestrial. They form the genus HEMEROBIUs, Lat. Or Hemerobius properly so called, also styled Demoiselles terrestrea. Their body is soft, and the globular eyes are frequently ornamented with metallic colours; the wings are large, and their exterior border is widened. They fly slowly and heavily; several diffuse a strong frecal odour, with which the finger that has touched them remains for a long time impregnated. The female deposits ten or twelve eggs on leaves; they are oval, white, and secured by a very long and capillary pedicle. Some authors have mistaken them for a species of mushroom. The larvre bear a considerable resemblance to those of the preceding division; they are, however, more elongated and errant. Reaurnur calls them Lions des Pucerons, because they feed on Aphides. They seize them with their horn-like mandibles, and soon exhaust them by suction. Some form a thick case for themselves of their remains, which gives them a very singular appearance. The nymph is enclosed in a silken cocoon of an extremely close tissue, the volume of which is very small when compared with that of the Insect. The fusi of the Iarvre are situated at the posterior extremity of the abdomen, like those of the Iarvre of the Myrmeleonides. H. perla, L.; Rres., Insect., III, Suppl., xxi, 4, 5. Greenyellow; eyes golden; wings transparent with entirely green nervures( l). The H. maculatus; Fab., has three little ocelli, while in all the rest of the species they are wanting. It forms the genus OsMYLus, Lat.(2) ( 1) Add Hemerobius jilosus and the albus, capitatua, phalamoides, nitidulus, hirtua, fuscatus, humuli, variegatus, and nervo8U8, Fab. See Lat., Gen. Crust. et Insect., liT, p. 196. (2) Lat., Ibid. |
