The Bee-eating Philanthus 



tuals. All my attempts miscarry : I do not 

 once succeed in rearing my larvae to the stage 

 of spinning the cocoon. And yet I am no 

 novice in the functions of a foster-father. 

 How many pupils have not passed through 

 my hands and reached maturity in my old 

 sardine-boxes as comfortably as in their na- 

 tural burrows I 



I will not draw rash conclusions from this 

 check; lam conscientious enough to ascribe it 

 to another cause. It may be that the at- 

 mosphere of my study and the dryness of 

 the sand serving as a bed have had a bad 

 effect on my charges, whose tender skins are 

 accustomed to the warm moisture of the 

 subsoil. Let us therefore try another ex- 

 pedient. 



It is hardly feasible to decide positively 

 by the methods which I have been following 

 whether the honey is or is not repugnant to 

 the grubs of the Philanthus. The first 

 mouthfuls consist of meat; and then nothing 

 particular occurs : it is the natural diet. The 

 honey is met with later, when the morsel has 

 been largely bitten into. If hesitation and 

 lack of appetite are displayed at this stage, 

 they come too late in the day to be conclu- 

 sive: the larva's discomfort may be due to 

 other, known or unknown, causes. The 

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