The Ergates; the Cossus 



trellis, now on the pile of wood that rep- 

 resents the pine-stump to which they must 

 hasten when the egg-laying season arrives. 

 Never do they touch the provisions, though 

 these are kept fresh by almost daily re- 

 newals; never do they nibble at the fruit, at 

 the dainties in which the Capricorn delights. 

 They scorn to eat. 



Worse still: apparently they disdain to 

 pair. I watch them every evening for nearly 

 a month. What melancholy lovers ! There 

 is no eagerness on the part of the male, no 

 impetuous hurry to woo his mate; no teasing 

 on the part of the female to stimulate her 

 backward swain. Each shuns the other's 

 company; and, when they do meet, they 

 merely maim each other. Under all my 

 wire covers, five in number, sooner or later 

 I find either the male or the female, some- 

 times both, the poorer by a few legs or one or 

 both antennas. The cut is so clean that it 

 might be the work of a pruning-shears. The 

 sharp edge of the mandibles, which are 

 shaped like cleavers, explains this hacking. 

 I myself, if I get my fingers caught, am bitten 

 till the blood comes. 



What kind of creatures are these, among 

 whom the sexes cannot meet without mutilat- 

 189 



