Chapter 8

Aphis, you know, is the same as aphid, or plant louse. In other words it is the plant-louse lion.

Ah, yes; you are quite willing it should devour the aphids.

And it does. It is very fond of them, though it will also devour any unlucky insect it is strong enough to overcome.

It has a terrible appetite, this child of the pretty lacewing.

It would even eat its brothers and sisters before they hatched out of the egg if it could get at them.

The pretty lacewing knows what an appetite her ever hungry larvæ will have, and so she protects them against each other.

Clever little mother! she lays the eggs in such a way that the larvæ that hatch out first cannot devour the rest of the eggs.

How do you think she manages it?

Here are some of her eggs on this leaf.

Yes, John; each one is on top of a slender stalk.

The stalk is of stiff silk.

There they are, like a little forest, with an egg for each tree top.

When an egg hatches the young aphis lion drops down to the leaf and runs about like a ravening lion seeking some living thing to devour.

Above his head, quite unsuspected by him, are the eggs out of which his brothers and sisters have not yet hatched.

What a feast he could have if he knew about it!

And what a sad little cannibal he would be!

The larva of the aphis lion has no distinct thorax. Its legs are attached to the upper segments of the body, and its metamorphosis is like that of the corydalus.

When about to become a pupa, it makes for itself a little covering of white silk. Here it lies quite motionless and undergoes the final transformation.

Yes, its metamorphosis is complete.

It bites an opening through its silken walls, and out steps--not the hungry, little, all-devouring aphis lion, but this elegant lady with her pale-green lacelike wings and her large, golden eyes.

You see the aphis lion is our very good friend.

It helps us get rid of the aphids, and we should never kill a lacewing or a child of the lacewing.

THE ANT LION

John has found something he wants us all to see.

We will go with him.

Now we will sit down on this sand bank and look at what he has to show us. See! those smooth little funnels in the sand.

Those are what we have come out to see.

Let us watch them a while.

Mollie says an ant is walking close to the rim of the funnel she is watching. Now the ant slips over the edge and slides down the smooth sides of the funnel.

And see! from the bottom of the funnel leap out two curved jaws and--good-by, ant!

The ant has been dragged down out of sight through a hole in the bottom of the funnel.

What a strange proceeding!

Who can be living down there at the bottom of the funnel?

We are sorry to disturb such a pretty piece of work, but we shall have to dig out one of the funnels. We shall have to be quick, too.

There, there, under the trowel! No, it is gone. There it is again. Dig fast, Ned. That is right. He has put it with a trowelful of sand into our box.

We will gently shake out the sand until we uncover it.

Mabel says it is just what she thought it was--a larva.

Yes, it is a larva.

You see it looks a little like the lacewing larva, and it, too, belongs to the Neuroptera.

What jaws!

How do you suppose it makes its tunnel?

If we give it plenty of sand, and keep very quiet, perhaps it will go to work.

There! it is throwing the sand about.

May says it is using its own head as a trowel. Yes, it is shovelling the sand away with its head.

Why is Ned laughing? Oh, see the ant lion he is watching! An ant slid part way down its funnel and tried to climb out again, and the ant lion down below is flinging sand at it.

There! it has succeeded in making the poor ant slip; down it goes, and now the ant lion has seized it and dragged it down under the ground.

It is easy to find these pit-falls of the ant lion in sand banks in the summer-time.

Yes, May, the ant lions eat many ants, and they moult and grow, and, finally, they, too, make a little cocoon about themselves.

Yes, the little silken room they weave we call a cocoon, but the ant lions make theirs of silk and sand.

Within the cocoon they become motionless pupæ, and finally appear as silver-winged little creatures that bear no resemblance to the large-jawed, ever hungry, ant lion.

May says she thinks the Neuroptera differ from all the other orders in the way the larvæ transform.

That is true, May, they do.

In no other order that we have studied do the insects go into the pupal state to undergo the final transformation.

Who remembers what the young of insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis are sometimes called?

Dear me, you all remember!

Yes, the young are sometimes called nymphs.

The nymphs do not change into pupæ.

The young grasshoppers do not change into motionless pupæ, they just keep on growing until they are perfect adults.

Young grasshoppers are sometimes called nymphs instead of larvæ.

THE LITTLE CADDICE FLIES

Here we are in the woods again.

How sweet it smells!

Let us sit down by this brook and look into it.

It is such a clear little stream, with fine sand and little pebbles at the bottom.

What has Nell found that pleases her so?

She says she sees some little bars of sand moving about.

Ned says they are not sand bars but tubes of sand, containing a little live thing.

The truth is, this sand bag is a house, and its occupant is a larva.

See the black head come popping out, and the tiny fore legs.

The larva does not come entirely out, you see, but pulls its house along with it, and when it is frightened it pops back into its little stone case.

Mollie says it reminds her of a hermit crab.

A hermit crab, you know, lives on the seashore and takes possession of an empty snail shell for a house.

It comes partly out dragging its house with it, but if you disturb it, it draws back, sometimes quite out of sight.

This little larva lives in a house, too, but it is a house of its own making.

It is the larva of the caddice fly, or case fly.

Let us put one of these little sand cases in the saucer here.

Please fill the saucer about half full of water, John. Thank you.

Now, Mollie, I see you have picked up a fine big caddice case.

Put it in the saucer, and let us watch the larva crawl about.

It never comes entirely out of the case, you see. It holds on to it with the hinder part of its body.

Its little black head is hard, but its body is soft, and that is why it does not like to expose itself to hungry larvæ that might be living in the water.

May says she wants to see the whole larva.

Suppose we carefully break away the little sand case.

No, indeed, little Nell, we are not going to hurt the larva; we are only going to open its house.

There, the larva is outside now, and you can see what a tender, pale little thing it is.

It does not like to have its soft body exposed.

See! it is already gathering little bits of sand together.

It seems to be sticking them fast to its body.

It is really binding them together by a saliva-like substance from its mouth.

It draws out little glistening threads that harden into silk as soon as they touch the water.

Queer saliva you think.

But the caddice larva does not find it queer. It is used to saliva that hardens into silk.

Yes, that is the way the larva of the aphis lion and of the ant lion made their cocoons. They spun out silk in this manner.

The caddice larva makes its house of silk and sand and also lines it with a beautiful covering of fine silk.

Yes, May, it papers its walls with silk.

You see it did not hurt the caddice larva to take away its house; it immediately went to work to build another.

Why not pull it out, instead of breaking its house to pieces?

Because if it had been pulled hard enough to come out, it might have been torn to pieces, it is such a tender little thing, and it holds fast so tightly.

So the best way to remove it safely is to break its case bit by bit from around it.

It does no harm to break its case if one is careful. It will soon build another.

Yes, this larva has no distinct thorax. It is like the larvæ of the dobson, the aphis lion, and the ant lion in that respect.

See! John has found one whose tube is made of quite large stones as compared with this tube of fine sand that we have broken open.

Some caddice larvæ build houses of wood instead of stone. They stick little twigs together, and some use little pieces of leaves.

Others again use tiny snail shells which, as you can imagine, make very pretty cases.

Our little caddice has made a neat little house of fine sand grains very nicely put together.

Some others make much rougher houses.

You will be apt to find the caddice larvæ in any brook and in some ponds, and I hope you will always look for them.

Notice the tracery in the soft mud of the brook.

Those lines that look as though some one had been ornamenting the bottom of the brook are made by our caddice larvæ.

They drag their cases along and thus make these lines.

Sometimes such lines are made by the little fresh-water snails; but you can always find the decorator by following along the lines he makes.

What, May? How is the delicate larva able to cling to the case tightly enough to pull it along? If you look at it very carefully, you will find a pair of tiny hooks at the tail end by which it can hold on to the silk lining; and some caddice larvæ have hard points on their backs which help them to hold fast.

The caddice larvæ are carnivorous; that is, they eat animal food.

Yes, May, their food is usually the larvæ of other insects, but you will be glad to know that some of them eat plants too.

They eat the larvæ of the May flies when they can find them and no doubt they build these strong cases about themselves to prevent the May fly larvæ from returning the compliment.

Frank has found some empty cases, yes, and some that are closed at both ends.

Now, let us look at this one closed at both ends. What do you suppose is in it?

We will open just one of these closed cases.

There! It is a pupa! Yes, Nell, a very pretty doll is this.

It has a thorax, you see, and an abdomen. Its long antennæ lie close to its body as do its little wing pads.

Yes, the caddice larva grows and moults in the usual way. It keeps adding to its house as it grows longer. Finally, it closes the end of its little tube and lies quite still.

You know what happens next. Its wormlike form divides into thorax and abdomen. Legs and wings appear, attached to the thorax. In short, it is no longer a wormlike creature.

Finally, it comes forth from its case. It never goes into it again.

It does not need to, for now it is a dainty little nun, with a long, tan-colored cloak. Its cloak, of course, is its wings folded down about its body. Like the fairy May flies it has no mouth and eats nothing in the adult form.

It looks like a dainty brown moth as it flutters about the bushes and goes flying up and down the brook.

You will always find these little brown-cloaked figures flitting about the brooks, where the caddice larvæ live.

You see the caddice undergoes a complete metamorphosis.

No, it does not belong to the Neuroptera.

Examine its wings very carefully. Look at them through the magnifying glass, and you will see they are clothed with hairs.

So these are the hair wings.

The name of the order to which they belong is Trichoptera, from _pteron_, a wing, and _thrix_, a hair.

Sometime you must take a caddice larva from its house and put it in a saucer of water with fine bits of mica, which you know is another name for the isinglass that makes the little windows in our stoves.

If you are fortunate, your caddice will build for itself a little glass house, through whose walls you can look and see what is going on inside.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Transcribers note: In this text letters with a macron or breve are | |represented thus: | | | | | |"a" with a macron [=a] "a" with a breve [)a] | |"e" with a macron [=e] "e" with a breve [)e] | | | |"i" with a macron [=i] "i" with a breve [)i] | |"o" with a macron [=o] "o" with a breve [)o] | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

GLOSSARY

~Abdomen~ (ab-d[=o]'-men). The lower part of an animal's body. The part behind the thorax in insects.

~Adult~ ([)a]-dult'). (L. adultus = grown up.) Grown to full size and strength.

~Anchor~ (ang'-kor). (Gr. = a hook.) Anchors are used to fasten ships by a line to the bottom of the sea. Applied to anything that holds a movable body fast in one place.

~Antenna~ pl. ~Antennae~ (an-ten'-nee). The feeler in front of the insect's head with which it hears and smells as well as feels.

~Aphis~ ([=a]'-fis) pl. ~Aphides~ (af'-i-d[=e]z).

~Aphid~ (af'-id) The plant louse, of which there are a great many kinds.

~Apparatus~ (ap-a-r[=a]'-tus). Tools or machinery used in working or in making things.

~Aquarium~ (a-kw[=a]'-ri-um). (L. aquarium = watering-place for cattle.) A vessel of water for keeping water plants or water animals.

~Attract~ (at-trakt'). (L. attractus = draw to.) To draw toward.

~Audubon~ (aw'-do-bon), John James. A very famous student of birds and their ways. In his great book, "The Birds of America," which was published in 1827, there are many large colored drawings made by himself.

~Beech-nuts~ Small, three-cornered nuts that grow on beech trees, and that are very sweet and good.

~Breeding-place~ The place where young animals are born.

~Brood~ A family of young animals.

~Caddice~, or ~Caddis fly~ (kad'-is fl[=i]). Sometimes called "case fly," from the case or shell which the larva makes about itself; "caddice" is another way of saying "case."

~Camera~ (kam'-e-ra). An instrument for taking photographs.

~Cannibal~ (kan'-[)i]-bal). A human being who eats human flesh. Any animal that eats others of its own kind.

~Cargo~ (kar'-go). The goods or merchandise or whatever is carried in a ship.

~Carnivorous~ (kar-niv'-[=o]-rus). (L. carnivorus = flesh-eating.) Applied to animals that feed on flesh, and plants that feed on insects.

~Cast~ The cast-off skin of an insect that keeps the form of the insect's body.

~Characteristic~ (kar-ak-te-ris'-tik). Showing the peculiar qualities of a person or thing.

~Chitinous~(k[=i]'-tin-us). Hard, horny, and shell-like.

~Cicada~ (si-k[=a]'-dä). (L. cicada = tree cricket.) A popular name for insects, like the grasshopper, locust, and cricket, which make a creaking or chirping noise.

~Cochineal~ (koch'-i-n[=e]l or koch-i-n[=e]l'). A crimson dyestuff made of the dried bodies of certain small insects. The insect is also called cochineal.

~Cocoon~ (ko-koon'). (L. concha = a shell.) The silky envelope which the larvæ of many insects spin to cover themselves.

~Compact~ (kom-pakt'). (L. compactus = joined together.) Closely and firmly united.

~Compound~ (kom'-pound). Made up of two or more parts.

~Coxa~ (kok'-sa). (L. coxa = the hip.) The first segment of an insect's _leg_, sometimes called the hip.

~Crevices~ (krev'-is-es). (L. crepare = to break, burst, crack.) Narrow openings or cracks.

~Descendant~ (d[=e]-sen'-dant). (L. descendere = to descend.) People or animals who have come from earlier people or animals.

~Ear drum~ ([=e]r' drum). A membrane stretched across inside the ear.

~Ejected~ ([=e]-jekt'-ed). (L. ejicere = to throw out.) Thrown out, driven away.

~Emaciated~ ([=e]-m[=a]'-shi-[=a]t-ed). (L. emaciare = to make lean.) Very thin and wasted.

~Emerge~ (e-merj'). (L. emergere = to rise out.) To appear, to come into sight.

~Ephemeridæ~ (ef-[=e]-mer'-i-d[=e]). (Gr. word = "lasting but a day.") The name of the May fly order.

~Facets~ (fas'-ets). Little faces; small surfaces.

~Femur~ (f[=e]'-mer). (L. femur = a thigh.) The long bone of the upper leg above the knee. The third segment in the insect's leg.

~Formidable~ (for'-mi-da-bl). (L. formidabilis = causing fear.) Hard to deal with; difficult to overcome.

~Fry~ (fr[=i]). The young of fishes; used for any small animals.

~Funnel~ (fun'-el). The shape of a hollow cone.

~Gauzy~ (gaw'-zi). Very fine, thin, and transparent.

~Ghosts~ (g[=o]sts). The spirits or shadows of the dead.

~Gills~ The breathing organs of any animal that lives in the water.

~Gorge~ (gorj). To feed greedily; to stuff one's self.

~Gossamer~ (gos'-a-mer). A fine filmy substance, like the cobweb of spiders.

~Grub~ The larva of an insect.

~Hearth~ (h[)a]rth). The part of the floor of a room where the fire is built.

~Hemiptera~ (h[=e]-mip'-te-ra). (Gr. = half-wing.) The name of an insect order including many kinds, all known as bugs.

~Incomplete~ (in-kom-pl[=e]t'). Not fully finished or developed.

~Injurious~ (in-jew'-ri-us). (L. injuriasus = acting unjustly or wrongly.) Something wrong or harmful.

~Inquisitive~ (in-kwiz'-i-tiv). Curious and prying.

~Insatiable~ (in-s[=a]'-shi-a-bl). (L. insatiabilis = that cannot be satisfied.) Not easily satisfied; very greedy.

~Isinglass~ ([=i]'-zing-glas). Thin, transparent sheets of mica.

~Joint~ The place where two things or parts of one thing are joined or united.

~Keel~ (k[=e]l). The lowest part of the bottom of a ship.

~Kettle drum~ (ket'-l drum). A musical instrument made of a hollow brass hemisphere over which is stretched parchment. This is sounded by blows from a mallet or stick.

~Larva~ (lar'-va); pl. ~Larvæ~ (lar'-v[=e]). The young insect.

~Lock~ To fasten in place.

~Locust~ (l[=o]'-kust). A shorthorned grasshopper.

~Mantis~ (man'-tis); pl. ~Mantes~ (man'-t[=e]z). (Gr. = prophet.) An orthopterous insect that holds its arms as if in prayer.

~Membrane~ (mem'-br[=a]n). (L. membrana = thin skin.) A thin, soft tissue that connects two parts, or lines a body.

~Mercaptan~ (mer-kap'-tan). (L. mercaptans = taking mercury.) A vile-smelling liquid that gets its name because of its strong action on mercury. It seizes upon mercury, so to speak.

~Metallic~ (me-tal'-ik). Made up of metals, or like metals.

~Metamorphosis~ (met-a-mor'-f[=o]-sis). (L. metamorphosis = change, transformation.) A change of form; a development, as the change of the caterpillar into the chrysalis.

~Mica~ (m[=i]'-ka). A transparent mineral that can be separated into thin sheets or layers.

~Microscope~ (m[=i]'-kr[=o]-sk[=o]p). An instrument that magnifies, or makes objects look larger when placed beneath it.

~Moult~ (m[=o]lt). (L. mutare = to change.) To shed or cast off the feathers, hair, or skin.

~Muscle~ (mus'-l). Bundles of fibres that have the power of growing longer or shorter. The body is moved by means of the muscles.

~Nary~ (ner'-i). "Ne'er a," a contraction of "never a."

~Nerve~ (nerv). (L. nervus = a fibre _or_ tendon.) The nerves are fibres or threads that carry impressions to the brain. Nerved = having fibres, as in the wings of insects.

~Neuroptera~ (n[=u]-r[)o]p'-te-ra). (Gr. = nerve-wing.) The name of an insect order.

~Nymph~ (nimf). (L. nympha = a bride, a young girl.) The young of insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis.

~Ocelli~ (o-sel'-le), pl. of Ocellus. (L. = a little eye.) The tiny, simple eyes of insects.

~Odonata~ ([=o]-d[=o]-na'-ta). The name of an insect order to which belong the dragon flies.

~Odors~ Pleasant or unpleasant smells.

~Opera-glass~ (op'-e-ra-glas). Magnifying glasses used at the theatre or opera to make things seem nearer.

~Organism~ (or'-gan-izm). A member of the animal or vegetable kingdom.

~Orthoptera~ (or-thop'-t[=e]-ra). (Gr. = straight-wing.) An insect order to which belong the grasshoppers.

~Ovipositor~ ([=o]-v[)i]-poz'-[)i]-tor). (L. ovum = egg, _and_ ponere = to place.) The end of the abdomen of some insects, with which they are able to put their eggs in a good place to be hatched.

~Oxygen~ (ok'-si-jen). A part of the air that is necessary to all animal and vegetable life.

~Parasites~ (par'-a-s[=i]tz). Animals or plants that live on others.

~Phylloxera~ (fil-ok-s[=e]'-ra). (Gr. = leaf _and_ dry.) An insect very destructive to grape vines.

~Plaited~ (pl[=a]t'-ed). Folded length-wise like the plaits of a closed fan.

~Plecoptera~ (pl[=e]-k[)o]p'-t[=e]-ra). (Gr. = twist _and_ wing.) An insect to which belong the stone flies.

~Pollute~(p[=o]-l[=u]t'). (L. polluere = to make unclean, to soil.) To make foul or unclean.

~Pores~ (porz). (L. porus = a way, a passage.) Small openings in the skin to help in breathing.

~Prey~ (pr[=a]). (L. præda = property taken in war.) An animal in the chase; game.

Prolific (pr[=o]-lif'-ik). Fruitful; producing young in abundance.

~Propel~ (pr[=o]-pel'). (L. propellere = to drive, or push forward.) To urge onward by force.

Prophet (prof'-et). One who tells of the future.

~Pulvillus~ (pul-vil'-us); pl. ~Pulvilli.~ (L. = a little cushion.) A little pad or cushion on an insect's foot.

~Ravenous~ (rav'-n-us). Greedy, furiously hungry.

~Repel~ (re-pel'). (L. repellere = to drive back.) To drive back, to check.

~Resinous~ (rez'-i-nus). Like resin, which is made from pine pitch.

~Rudimentary~ (rew-di-men'-ta-ri). (L. rudimentum = a first attempt.) Imperfectly developed or in an early stage of development.

~Saliva~ (sa-l[=i]'-va). Spittle. The liquid formed in the mouth, which mixes with food, and helps it to digest.

~Segment~ (seg'-ment). (L. secare = to cut.) A part cut off, a section.

~Seize~ (s[=e]z). To grasp, to clutch.

~Sensitive~ (sen'-si-tiv). Quick to feel. The nerve of the eye is sensitive to light, quick to feel light.

~Shellac~ (she-lak' or shel-ak'). It is made from a coloring matter in the bodies of certain insects. A polish which is used with varnish.

~Silk~ (s[=i]lk). A fine, soft, strong thread made by the larvæ of certain insects.

~Skeleton~ (skel'-e-ton). (Gr. = ~dried~ up.) The dry bones of the body taken together.

~Socket~ (sok'-et). Any hollow thing or place which receives or holds something else.

~Soothsayer~ (söth'-s[=a]-er). One who pretends to know what the future holds for us.

~Source~ (s[=o]rs). The place where anything begins.

~Species~ (sp[=e]'-shez). A group of closely related animals or plants.

~Spine~ (sp[=i]n). (L. spina = a thorn). Anything sharp and slender like a thorn.

~Spiracle~ (spir'-or sp[=i]r-a-kl). (L. spiraculum = a breathing hole). An air-hole.

~Survivals~ (ser-v[=i]'-valz). (L. supervivo = to live over.) Those outliving the larger number.

~Swammerdam, Johannes~. A Dutch entomologist, born in Amsterdam in 1637. He published several books on the natural history of insects.

~Syringe~ (sir'-inj). (Gr. = a pipe _or_ reed.) A little instrument for drawing in water, and forcing it out again.

Tarsus (tar'-sus); pl. ~Tarsi.~ (Gr. = the sole of the foot.) The little segments that make up the insect's foot. Also the little bones of the instep.

~Telescope~ (tel'-e-sk[=o]p). (Gr. = to view afar off.) An instrument by which distant objects are made to appear nearer and larger.

~Thorax~ (th[=o]'-rax). (Gr. = armor for the breast.) That part of the body of animals between the head and the abdomen.

~Thysanura~ (this-a-n[=u]'-ra). (Gr. = tassel and tail.) An insect order to which belong the scale fishes.

~Tibia~ (tib'-i-a). (L. tibia = a slender pipe, a musical instrument.) A long, slender bone in the leg, below the knee. The fourth segment in an insect's leg, generally long and slender.

~Transformation~ (trans-for-ma'-shon). (L. transformare = to change the shape of.) A change in form or nature.