Parasites 



the dysty soil on which they cower while wait- 

 ing for the arrival of the huntress laden with 

 her capture. But they dissemble in vain : the 

 Bembex, the Philanthus and the others see 

 them from above, before touching ground; 

 they recognize them perfectly at a distance, 

 despite their grey costume. And so they hover 

 prudently above the burrow and strive, by 

 sudden feints, to mislead the traitorous little 

 Fly, who, on her side, knows her business too 

 well to allow herself to be enticed away or to 

 leave the spot where the other Is bound to 

 return. No, a thousand times no: clay- 

 coloured though they be, the Tachlnae have 

 no better chance of attaining their ends than a 

 host of other parasites whose clothing Is not 

 of grey frieze to match the locality fre- 

 quented, as witness the glittering Chrysis, or 

 the Melecta and the Croclsa, with their white 

 spots on a black ground. 



We are also told that, the better to cozen 

 his amphytrion, the parasite adopts more or 

 less the same shape and colouring; he turns 

 himself, in appearance, into a harmless neigh- 

 bour, a worker belonging to the same guild. 

 Instance the Psithyrus, who lives at the ex- 

 pense of the Bumble-bee. But in what. If you 

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