FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



Midge to the young ones? He does nothing of the kind. 

 Possibly he puts forward his comparative weakness as an 

 excuse. It is a poor argument; for to cut a disk out of 

 a leaf, to scrape some cotton from a downy plant, to 

 collect a little bit of cement in muddy places would not 

 overtax his strength. He could very easily help, at any 

 rate as a labourer; he is quite fit to gather materials for 

 the mother, with her greater intelligence, to fit in place. 

 The real reason of his inactivity is sheer incapability. 



It is strange that the most gifted of the industrial 

 insects should know nothing of a father's duties. One 

 would expect the highest talents to be developed in him 

 by the needs of the young; but he remains as dull-witted 

 as a Butterfly, whose family is reared at so small a cost. 

 We are baffled at every turn by the question: Why is 

 a particular instinct given to one insect and denied to 

 another? 



It baffles us so thoroughly that we are extremely sur- 

 prised when we find in the scavenger the noble qualities 

 that are denied to the honey-gatherer. Various Scaven- 

 ger Beetles are accustomed to help in the burden of 

 housekeeping, and know the value of working in double 

 harness. The Geotrupes couple, for mstance, prepare 

 their larva's food together: the father lends his mate the 

 assistance of his powerful press in the manufacture of 

 the tightly packed sausage-shaped ration. He is a splen- 



[200] 



