little creatures strip themselves of the slough of the nymph, in order to become flies, are very surprising. We do not draw our arm more quickly from the sleeve of a coat, than the Ephemera draws its body, its wings, its legs, and the long filaments of its tail, from that complicated vestment, which forms a kind of sheath for all these parts. No sooner is a rent effected in the corselet, and the body seen through that rent, than the rest of the operation is finished in an instant. Sometimes, indeed, it happens, that the filaments of the tail cannot be so quickly disengaged as the rest of the body. In this case, the insects fly away with their slough appended: and sometimes also these slender filaments are broken off.

OF THE PHRYGANEÆ, OR CADEW FLIES*.

"The Phryganeæ are to be observed, during the spring and summer months, flying about, or resting upon the grass and weeds near the borders of rivers, streams, and ponds. They deposit their eggs on aquatic plants. These are enclosed in a glairy matter, as transparent as water, and of the consistence of jelly, by means of which they firmly adhere to the place where they have been deposited.

The larvæ, when hatched, form for themselves tubes of silk, the interior of which is smooth and polished, and to the exterior of which they attach fragments of different substances; thus constituting a strong defence against the attempts of their enemies. Some of the species employ, for this purpose, bits of leaves, straw, grass, or rushes; others adopt the shells of small aquatic snails; others, grains of sand; and others employ several different kinds mixed together. They contrive to make their habitations nearly in equilibrium with the

*The mouth is furnished with a horny, short, curved mandible, and four feelers. The antennæ are setaceous, and longer than the thorax. The wings are equal, and incumbent; and the lower ones are folded.

water, by adding a bit of wood when too heavy, and some heavier substance when too light.

The larva have each six scaly legs; and their body is composed of twelve annules. The legs are attached to the three first rings, and the fourth has three fleshy eminences, by which they are supposed to respire and reject water. They feed on the larvæ of other waterinsects, and also on the leaves of aquatic plants.

THE GREAT CADEW FLY*.

The larvæ of the Great Cadew Flies, form a case with small bits of wood disposed longitudinally. In the interior of this they reside, and undergo their change into a pupa state. As in the other species, their tube is exactly cylindrical, having an opening at each end.

They are unable to swim; but can crawl nimbly about at the bottom of the water, or up the stalks and upon the leaves of aquatic plants, on which they feed. In the act of crawling they push out of the case their head and legs, dragging at the same time, like the snail, their habitation along with them.

Like the larvæ of other Cadew Flies, they undergo their change to the pupa state, under the protection of their case; closing for this purpose both the apertures. This is done with a kind of silk, which they spin from their bodies, and which forms a kind of net-work, of sufficient strength to defend them from the attacks of their foes, and yet with meshes sufficiently wide to admit the free passage of water for the respiration of the pupa.

After a lapse of fifteen or twenty days from the time of the larva having closed up its case, the pupa becomes so far perfected, as to abandon it. By means of its four

DESCRIPTION. The wings are of a testaceous brown colour, with cinereous spots.

SYNONYMS. Phryganea grandis. Linn.-La grande Frigane. Cuvier.

anterior feet, which, like the others, are enclosed in a kind of envelone, it now crawis up the side of the bank, or up the stem of some aquatic plant to the surface of the water. Here it searches out a dry place, where it can rest for a little while in tranquillity, until, by the warmth of the atmosphere, its skin becomes perfectly dry. This then splits open, and, in a few minutes, the perfect insect issues forth, and, after its wings are hardened, flies away.

OF THE MYRMELEON, OR ANT-EATER

TRIBE*.

The Myrmeleons constitute a tribe of insects, which, from their extremely singular habits, whilst in a larva state, are highly interesting.

The larve are hairy, with six feet; and have strong, exserted, and toothed jaws. They prey with savage ferocity on ants, and some of the smaller insects; and, for the purpose of ensnaring their prey, they form a kind of funnel or pit in light earth, at the bottom of which they lie buried. The manners of most of the tribe greatly resemble those of the following species.

The chrysalis is enclosed in a little ball of sand or earth, the particles of which are agglutinated together by a viscid matter, which the larva mixes with it previously to its change.

THE COMMON MYRMELEON, OR ANT-LION †.

The name of this insect has been obtained from the

The antennæ of these insects are about the length of the thorax, and thickest at the tip. The mouth is armed with jaws, teeth, and six feelers. The wings are deflected; and the abdomen of the male terminates in a forceps composed of two straight filaments.

+ DESCRIPTION. In its perfect state, this insect somewhat resembles in shape the dragon-fly. It is of a dark or blackish gray, with some spots on its thorax, and on the posterior bor

circumstance of its larva subsisting principally on ants. This food it is able to obtain only by stratagem.

The usual situation, which the larva adopts for its residence, is in a dry, sandy soil, under some old wall, or other protection from the wind. Here he forms a pit of the shape of a funnel. If this is only to be small, he thrusts himself backward pretty deep, and artfully throws out, beyond the edges of the hollow, the loose sand, which has fallen in upon him, and at the bottom he then lies concealed. If it is to be of greater extent, he begins by first tracing in the surface of the sand a tolerably large circle, which is to form its base. He then gets under the sand near the edge, and proceeding backward in a spiral direction, carefully throws up beyond the circumference of the circle, all the particles that fall upon his body: this he continues to do until he arrives at the apex of the cone he has thus formed. His long neck, and flat head, he uses as a spade; and the strength of these parts is so great, that he is able to throw off at once a considerable quantity of sand to even six inches distance.

His pit being finished, he buries himself among the sand at the bottom, leaving only his horns visible. Here he patiently waits for his prey. When an ant or any other small insect happens to walk over the edges of the hollow, its steps force down some of the particles; which gives the Ant-lion notice of its presence. He immediately throws up the sand which covers his head, to overwhelm the ant, and, with its returning force, to bring it to the bottom. This he continues to do till

der of the rings of its abdomen. The wings have some spots of blackish brown.

The larva, in its general appearance, is not much unlike a spider. Its body is of a dirty gray colour, marked with black spots. The head is small and flat, and from this proceeds two horns, each about the sixth of an inch long, hard, hollow, and hooked at the end.

SYNONYMS. Myrmeleon formicarius. Linn.-Le Myrméléon des Fourmis. Tigny.

the insect is overcome, and falls between his horns. Every endeavour to escape, when once the incautious ant has stepped within the verge of the pit, is vain; for, in all its attempts to climb the side, the deceptious sand slips from under its feet, and every struggle precipitates it still lower. When within reach, the Ant-lion plunges the points of his jaws into its body, and having sucked out all its juices, throws out the empty skin to some distance. This done, the Ant-lion mounts the edges of his pit, and repairs whatever injury it may have sustained; and then, descending, again conceals himself at the bottom.

The jaws of this creature are hollow, and serve as pumps to draw into its stomach the juices of those insects on which it feeds; for in the head there is no mouth, nor any organ which can answer the same purpose. The horns being therefore so necessary to its life, nature has provided for the restoring of them in case of accident; for, if cut off, they will grow again.

The food which this creature procures by its pit, can be but little; and as it has no power of catching its prey by any other mode, its motions being very slow, some persons have believed, that its thus catching now and then an ant, was rather an act of diversion than of hunger. But though the Ant-lion will live a long time without food, and even pass through all its changes when shut up in a box, yet it is always ready to eat, when food is offered to it. It always appears starved and small when kept thus; and if a fly be given to it in that hungry state, it will suck out all its juices so perfectly, that the remaining shell may be rubbed to powder between the fingers, whilst the body of the creature that has sucked it, appears remarkably swelled and distended. For the sake of experiment, M. Poupart put an Ant-lion into a wooden box with some sand, and covered it with a glass, so as to exclude every other insect. Here it formed its cone, and watched as usual for prey, though in vain. Thus he kept it for several months; while in an adjoining box he kept another of