The Mason-bees 



digging into its vitals. In him again we see 

 exemplified that marvellous art which consists 

 in feeding on the victim without killing it until 

 the meal is over, so as always to have a por- 

 tion of fresh meat. With its mouth assidu- 

 ously applied to the unhappy creature's skin, 

 the lethal grub fills itself and waxes fat, while 

 the fostering larva collapses and shrivels, re- 

 taining just enough life, however, to resist de- 

 composition. All that remains of the de- 

 canted corpse is the skin, which, when soft- 

 ened In water and blown out, swells Into a 

 balloon without the least escape of gas, thus 

 proving the continuity of the Integument. All 

 the same, the apparently unpunctured bladder 

 has lost its contents. It is a repetition of what 

 the Anthrax has shown us, with this difference, 

 that the Leucospis seems not so well skilled 

 in the delicate work of absorbing the victim. 

 Instead of the clean white granule which is 

 the sole residue when the Fly has finished her 

 joint, the insect with the long probe has a 

 plateful of leavings, not seldom soiled with 

 the brownish tinge of food that has gone bad. 

 It would seem that, towards the end, the act 

 of consumption becomes more savage and does 

 not disdain dead meat. I also notice that the 

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