The Travellers 



dale, will select a home In old walls and sandy 

 banks warmed by the southern sun. Then, 

 when the cold is past, all or part of the troop 

 will return to the place whence they came. 

 This would explain the Ventoux band of 

 Ammophilse. It was a travelling tribe 

 which, coming from the cold uplands of the 

 Drome and descending into the warm plains 

 beloved of the olive-tree, had crossed the 

 wide, deep valley of the Toulourenc and, 

 when surprised by the rain, had called a halt 

 on the mountain-ridge. Apparently, there- 

 fore, the Hairy Ammophila has to migrate in 

 order to escape the cold of winter. At the 

 time when the little birds of passage start 

 their procession of caravans, she too journeys 

 from a colder to a warmer neighbourhood. 

 She has but to cross a few valleys and a few 

 mountains to find the climate which she wants. 

 I have two other instances of extraordinary 

 gatherings of insects at great heights. In 

 October, I have found the chapel at the sum- 

 mit of Mont Ventoux covered with Coccinella 

 septempiinctata, the Seven-spot Ladybird. 

 The insects clinging to the stone of both the 

 roof and walls were packed so close together 

 that the rude edifice looked, from a little way 

 off, like a piece of coral-work. I should not 

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