62 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



be one for the benefit of the thyme and the corn ; bu\ 

 the captives would find it and escape by it. The planta- 

 tion and the crop will suffer from this lack of drainage, 

 but at least I am sure of recovering my larvae with the 

 help of patience and a magnifying-glass. Moreover, 

 1 shall go gently in the matter of irrigation, giving 

 only just enough water to save the plants from 

 perishing. 



When all is in order, and when the wheat is beginning 

 to shoot, I place six young larva? of the Cigale on the 

 surface of the soil. The tiny creatures begin to pace 

 hither and thither ; they soon explore the surface of 

 their world, and some try vainly to climb the sides of the 

 vase. Not one of them seems inclined to bury itself ; 

 so that I ask myself anxiously what can be the object of 

 their prolonged and active explorations. Two hours go 

 by, but their wanderings continue. 



What do they want ? Food ? I offer them some 

 tiny bulbs with bundles of sprouting roots, a few frag- 

 ments of leaves and some fresh blades of grass. 

 Nothing tempts them ; nothing brings them to a stand- 

 still. Apparently they are seeking for a favourable point 

 before descending into the earth. But there is no need 

 for this hesitating exploration on the soil I have prepared 

 for them ; the whole area, or so it seems to me, lends 

 itself excellently to the operations which I am expecting 

 to see them commence. Yet apparently it will not 

 answer the purpose. 



Under natural conditions a little wandering might well 

 be indispensable. Spots as soft as my bed of earth from 

 the roots of the briar-heather, purged of all hard bodies 

 and finely sifted, are rare in nature. Coarse soils are 



