Change of Diet 



industry and its habits shall take precedence 

 of the shape of a joint in its antennae. It 

 will come; but when? 



If from generalities we descend to details, 

 we shall see that the very species may, in 

 many instances, be determined from the na- 

 ture of its victuals. The number of bur- 

 rows of Philanthus apivorus ^ which I have 

 inspected since I have been rummaging the 

 hot road-side embankments, to enquire into 

 their population, would seem hyberbolical 

 were I able to state the figures. They must 

 amount, it seems to me, to thousands. Well, 

 in this multitude of food-stores, whether re- 

 cent or ancient, uncovered for a purpose or 

 encountered by chance, I have not once, not 

 as often as once, discovered other remains 

 than those of the Hive-bee : the imperishable 

 wings, still connected in pairs, the cranium 

 and thorax enveloped in a violet shroud, 

 the winding-sheet which time throws over 

 these relics. To-day as when I was a be- 

 ginner, ever so long ago ; in the north as in 

 the south of the country which I explored; 

 in mountainous regions as on the plains, the 

 Philanthus follows an unvarying diet: she 

 must have the Hive-bee, always the Bee and 



1 For the Bee-eating Philanthus cf. Chapter X. of the 

 present volume. — Translator'} Note. 

 171 



