214 TRANSFORMATIONS OF INSECTS. 



which produces a lethargy, which lasts a long time, and, in fact, 

 the wounded insect never recovers perfectly. There is thus a 

 most interesting series of phenomena of a most remarkable 

 character. The larva; of these Hymenoptcra imperatively require 

 nourishment, which can only be derived from living tissues ; they 

 would die close to a dead body, or if they were placed upon an 

 animal which was decomposing, or which had become dry. Thus 

 these larvse which have no offensive weapons, and which cannot 

 move from place to place, come at last to gnaw and feed upon 

 living insects which cannot do them the least harm. The diffi- 

 culties which are required to be overcome in order that all this 

 can be consummated would be insurmountable were it not for the 

 bountiful providence of Nature, which causes them to disappear 

 as if by enchantment. These larvae have nothing to fear from 

 their victims, which have been rendered inert by a proper dose 

 of the venom of the female insect ; they cannot offer the least 

 resistance to any sort of attack, and, condemned to be slowly 

 eaten, they nevertheless live until a large portion of their sub- 

 stance has been consumed. Death can hardly be said to take 

 place until the larva has had enough, and has reached its full 

 growth. The poison of the sting seems to act upon the tissues 

 as a preservative, and caterpillars and the larvae of beetles which 

 have been stung by Hymeiioptera may be kept for several months 

 in pill boxes without showing any alteration, and without under- 

 going death or decomposition. It is to be hoped that the same 

 Providence that feeds the larvae in this extraordinary manner 

 gives the venom a power of subduing pain ; if not, Providence 

 is certainly on the side of the Hynienoptera, and a more dreadful 

 fate than that of the living death of the poisoned insects can 

 hardly be imagined. 



As soon as one of these fossorial Hymenoptcra has collected a 

 stock of provisions within its cell, it lays an &^g inside and closes 

 the opening with a portion of the rubbish of the excavation, and 

 alters the outside appearance of the work so completely, and makes 

 it look so much like the neighbouring surfaces, that it is very 

 difficult even for intelligent collectors to find out the nests. The 

 female constructs a great number of these cellular nests; some- 

 times they are close to each other, and at others they are widely 



