THE OIL-BEETLE (MELOE) 95 



exhaust this complicated life-history. The fresh 

 information we owe to Fabre. 1 I am glad of the 

 opportunity to introduce his graphic sketches to some 

 English readers who may not have met with them 

 before. The translation is somewhat condensed. 



Meloe cicatricosus, he remarks, infests the nests of 

 two other Anthophorae besides the A. retusa spoken 

 of by Newport, but though our author had found the 

 larvae in the cells of its hosts, he had never seen the 

 female wandering in search of a place to lay her eggs. 

 The history of his investigations dates from May 

 23rd, 1858, and the scene was a steep slope bordering 

 the road from Carpentras to Bedoin. The slope, 

 baked in the sun, was the abode of swarms of 

 burrowing Bees (Anthophora). A scanty turf ex- 

 tended from the edge of the road to the foot of the 

 slope. To observe the Bees more closely, Fabre lay 

 upon the grass, when his clothes became covered with 

 what looked like little yellow fleas, rushing about 

 with desperate haste. These Insects, which gave him 

 the appearance of being dusted with ochre, were soon 

 recognised as the active larvae of Meloe. 



On the patch of grass were some few flowers, and 

 among these a Groundsel and a Chamomile. Observ- 

 ing these closely, Fabre saw that almost all the 

 flowers were occupied by the larvae. They might be 

 found crouching motionless among the florets of a 

 single head. None were to be seen on a Poppy or a 

 Crucifer which grew by the side of the Composites. 



" Besides the hordes encamped on the heads of the 

 Composites," continues Fabre, " which were motion- 

 1 Nouveaux Souvenirs Kntomologiques, XVI. (1882). 



