The Life of the Fly 



some time, the whole of the awl bears on the 

 cocoon, feeling all round with Its point, grop- 

 ing about; then, suddenly, the boring-needle 

 Is released from Its sheath, which falls back 

 along the body, while the needle strives to 

 make Its entrance. The operation Is a difficult 

 one. I see the Insect make a score of attempts, 

 one after the other, without succeeding In 

 piercing the tough wrapper of the Stells. 

 Should the Instrument not penetrate. It re- 

 treats Into Its sheath and the Insect resumes Its 

 scrutiny of the cocoon, sounding It point by 

 point with the tips of its antennae. Then fur- 

 ther thrusts are tried until one succeeds. 



The eggs are little spindles, white and 

 gleaming like ivory, about two-thirds of a 

 millimetre^ in length. They have not the 

 long, curved peduncle of the Leucospis' eggs; 

 they are not suspended from the ceiling of the 

 cocoon like these, but are laid without order 

 around the fostering larva. Lastly, in a sin- 

 gle cell and with a single mother, there Is 

 always more than one laying; and the number 

 of eggs varies considerably In each. The Leu- 

 cospis, because of her great size, which rivals 

 that of her victim, the Bee, finds in each cell 



*About one-fortieth of an inch. — Translator's Note, 

 68 



