Rationing According to Sex 



dred and thirty-six cells, which are divided 



as in the table opposite : 



2 cells each containing i Bee 

 52 " " " 2 Bees 



36 " " " 3 " 



36 " " " 4 " 



I cell " " 6 *' 



136 



The Mantis-hunting Tachytes consumes 

 its heap of Mantes, the horny envelope in- 

 cluded, without leaving any remains but 

 scanty crumbs, quite insufficient to establish 

 the number of items provided. After the 

 meal is completed, any inventory of the ra- 

 tions becomes impossible. I therefore have 

 recourse to the cells which still contain the 

 egg or the very young larva and, above all, 

 to those whose provisions have been invaded 

 by a tiny parasitic Gnat, a Tachina,^ which 

 drains the game without cutting it up and 

 leaves the whole skin intact. Twenty-five 

 larders, put to the count, give me the follow- 

 ing result: 



iCf. The Hunting Wasps: chaps, iv. and xvi. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



219 



