"Well," he called back, "a frying-pan and an axe, and perhaps a tent." He allowed his canoe to drop nearer Mrs. Reece's. "What naughty children you are," he continued, "to bother the life out of your poor mother! I know of some other children, too, who are very naughty. I see one flying now." "That pretty little thing," exclaimed Betty, "with the gauzy wings?" "Yes, that pretty little thing; its wings have many, many veins. When Lace-Wing is a baby and is called a larva, it does not look like this, for its jaws are strong and very sharp. After it has eaten and grown for some time it makes a house for itself, where it rolls up for a nap. While it is lying very still in this little house many things are happening." "What happens?" asked Jack. "Well, it is changing from a baby to a grown-up, and while it is growing up into an insect it is called a pupa. Don't mistake this for papa--it does not look like your papa at all." Betty thought this was very funny, because her father was a great big man over six feet tall. "After its wings are made and it looks just like its mamma, Lace-Wing crawls out of its house and flies away." [Illustration: Pit of the Ant-Lion] "Has it any cousins, like the locust?" asked Betty. "Yes, it has cousins; the ant-lion and caddis-fly both belong to this family. But little Lace-Wing, with its beautiful green body, gauzy wings, and golden eyes, is the most graceful member of the family." "How do they live when they are babies?" asked Hope. "When they are babies," said Ben Gile, opening his eyes wide and speaking in a loud, deep voice, "they go about like lions seeking whom they may devour." Betty was frightened. "No, no, child," said Mrs. Reece, "not a real lion." "Just an aphis-lion," explained the guide, his eyes twinkling. "They are called aphis-lions because they are very cruel to the little green plant-lice I told you about. You remember, the plant-lice live on plants, and with their sucking beaks pump the sap from the plants. The aphis-lions crawling over the plants come across the little aphid. Quick as a wink they stick their sharp claws in the soft body of the plant-louse and drink the blood with their sharp-pointed jaws. They are very fond of eggs, too, and Mamma Lace-Wing is careful of her eggs, because she knows the mischievous ways of her children." "What does Mamma Lace-Wing do with her eggs?" inquired Mrs. Reece. "Each egg which she lays has a tiny stem, and the stems are fastened to a leaf or twig. When the babies hatch out they crawl down onto the leaf and hunt around for something to eat. Perhaps if they knew more they would crawl up the little egg stems and eat their own brothers and sisters." "Oh, what cannibals!" cried Betty. "Yes, it is not pleasant, this Fiji Island of the insects, but it is their nature." "They do seek their meat from God," murmured Mrs. Reece.