226 INSECT LIFE 



XVI 



the small larva eats up its choice ration. Meanwhile, 

 the mother remains near : one may see her licking the 

 sugary exudations on the flower-heads of Eryngium 

 campestre for nourishment, then settling with enjoy- 

 ment on the burning sand, whence she doubtless 

 surveys the exterior of her dwelling, or she sifts the 

 sand at its entrance, then flies off and vanishes — 

 perhaps to excavate other cells to be stored in a 

 like manner. But however prolonged her absence, 

 she does not forget the young larva so scantily pro- 

 vided for ; maternal instinct teaches her the hour 

 when the grub has finished its food and needs new 

 sustenance. Then she comes back to the nest whose 

 invisible entrance she knows right well how to find, 

 and penetrates the hollow — this time laden with a 

 larger prey. This deposited, she goes out again, 

 and awaits outside the time for a second expedi- 

 tion. It soon comes, for the larva shows a devour- 

 ing appetite. Again the mother arrives with fresh 

 provender. 



During almost a fortnight, while the larva is 

 growing, the meals follow each other thus, one by 

 one, as it needs them, and so much the nearer 

 together as the nursling grows stronger. Toward 

 the end of the fortnight the mother requires all her 

 activity to supply the glutton's appetite as it crawls 

 heavily amid the remains of its repasts — wings, feet, 

 and horny rings of abdomens. Each moment she 

 returns with a new capture or comes forth for the 

 chase. In short, the Bembex brings up her family 

 from hand to mouth without storing provisions, like 

 the bird which brings a beakful of food to the little 

 ones still in the nest. Among the numerous proofs 



