1572 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



down floors, gathering here and there some fugitives, 

 and arrives at last at the centre, in which millions of 

 animals swarm. He then swallows them in large 

 mouthfuls and retires, leaving behind him a desert 

 and a ruin in the spot before occupied by a veritable 

 palace, full of prodigious activity. 



The colonies are not only exposed to the devasta- 

 tions of those who feed on their members; they have 

 other enemies in the animals who covet their stores 

 of food. The most inveterate robber of bees is the 

 nocturnal Death's Head moth. When he has suc- 

 ceeded in penetrating the hive the stings of the pro- 

 prietors who throw themselves on him do not trouble 

 him, thanks to his thick fleece of long hairs which the 

 sting can not penetrate; he makes his way to the cells, 

 rips them open, gorges himself with honey, and 

 causes such havoc that in Switzerland, in certain 

 years when these butterflies were abundant, numbers 

 of hives have been found absolutely empty. Many 

 other marauders and of larger size, such as the bear, 

 also spread terror among these laborious insects and 

 empty their barns. No animal is more crafty than 

 the raven, and the fabulist who wished to make him 

 a dupe was obliged to oppose to him the very cun- 

 ning fox in order to render the tale fairly life-like. 

 A great number of stories are told concerning the 

 raven's cleverness, and many of them are undoubted- 

 edly true. There is no bolder robber of nests. He 

 swallows the eggs and eats the little ones of the spe- 

 cies who can not defend themselves against him; he 

 even seeks the eggs of sea-gulls on the coast; but in 

 this case he .must use cunning, for if he is discovered 



