you not
remember how you admired the silvery wings of the corydalus when we
spread them out?

Yes, it belongs to the same order as the corydalus.

The name of the insect order to which they both belong is Neuroptera,
from _neuron_, a nerve, and _pteron_--who remembers what _pteron_ means?

Yes, a wing. Nerve-winged.

What does that mean?

It means that the wings are crossed by many nerves or veins. Yes, that
is what gives them their lacelike appearance.

Pretty golden eye, why do we not oftener see you on the trees and
bushes? It is only by accident we found you to-day, down in the grass.

The truth is, this pretty fairy hides by day and comes out at night to
lay its eggs. Like the May fly, the adult lacewing does not eat. It is a
helpless little beauty, though it has one powerful means of defence, as
you will discover if you touch it.

Ah, yes; you have already detected it! It gives forth such an offensive
odor that nothing, one should think, could have the hardihood to eat it.

May says she supposes the larva of the lacewing is a little monster like
that of the corydalus.

But you will not expect to find it as large as a dobson.

I think if we hunt about a little, we can find one.

Here is one on the leaf. See what a little fellow! And how fast it runs!

[Illustration]

We shall have to take it captive, in order to get a chance to see it.

It is a funny little larva, with jaws that are _tre-men-dous_ for one of
its size.

Why do you suppose it has such jaws?

May says, for the usual reason, to eat up other larvae.

Yes; but wait till I tell you another name for this larva.

It is also called the aphis lion.

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 larvae will
have, and so she protects them against each other.

Clever little mother! she lays the eggs in such a way that the larvae
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