The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



always established on the toughest and hard- 

 est part of the Bee's body, on the thorax, a 

 little below the insertion of the wings, or, 

 more rarely, on the head; and they remain 

 absolutely motionless, fixed to the same hair, 

 by means of the mandibles, the feet, the 

 closed crescent of the eighth segment and, 

 lastly, the glue of the anal button. If they 

 chance to be disturbed in this position, they 

 reluctantly repair to another point of the 

 thorax, pushing their way through the insect's 

 fur and in the end fastening on to another 

 hair, as before. 



To confirm my conviction that the young 

 Sitaris-grubs do not feed on the Anthophora's 

 body, I have sometimes placed within their 

 reach, in a glass jar, some Bees that have 

 long been dead and are completely dried up. 

 On these dry corpses, fit at most for gnaw- 

 ing, but certainly containing nothing to suck, 

 the Sitaris-larvae took up their customary 

 position and there remained motionless as 

 on the living insect. They obtain nothing, 

 therefore, from the Anthophora's body; but 

 perhaps they nibble her fleece, even as the 

 Bird-lice nibble the birds' feathers? 



To do this, they would require mouth- 

 parts endowed with a certain strength and, in 

 particular, horny and sturdy jaws, whereas 

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