The Scolias 



here are young Scolia-larvae dipping their 

 heads into the entrails of their victims; here 

 are others farther advanced, munching their 

 last mouthfuls of a prey which is drained 

 dry and reduced to a skin; here are some 

 laying the foundation of their cocoons with 

 a reddish silk, which looks as if it had been 

 dyed in Bullock's blood; here are some whose 

 cocoons are finished. There is plenty of 

 everything, from the egg to the larva whose 

 period of activity is over. I mark the 2nd 

 of September as a red-letter day; it has given 

 me the final key to a riddle which has kept 

 me in suspense for nearly half a century. 



I place my spoils rehgiously in shallow, 

 wide-mouthed glass jars containing a layer 

 of finely sifted mould. In this soft bed, 

 which is identical in character with the natal 

 surroundings, I make some faint impressions 

 with my fingers, so many cavities, each of 

 which receives one of my subjects, one only. 

 A pane of glass covers the mouth of the 

 receptacle. In this way I prevent a too 

 rapid evaporation and keep my nurslings 

 under my eyes without fear of disturbing 

 them. Ndw that all this is in order, let us 

 proceed to record events. 



The Cetonia-larvae which I find with a Sco- 

 lia's egg upon their ventral surface are dis- 

 ss 



