Objections and Rejoinders 



turn brown and lapse into rottenness. The 

 other two keep perfectly fresh and move 

 their antennas and palpi at the touch of a 

 straw. The cold weather comes and tickhng 

 no longer elicits these signs of life. The 

 inertia is complete; nevertheless their ap- 

 pearance remains excellent, without a trace 

 of the brownish tinge, the sign of deteriora- 

 tion. At the return of the warm weather, 

 in the middle of May, there is a sort of 

 resurrection. I find my two larvae turned 

 over, belly downwards; much more: they are 

 half-buried in the mould. When teased, 

 they coil up lazily; they move their legs as 

 well as their mouth-parts, but slowly and 

 without vigour. Then their strength seems 

 to revive. The convalescent, resuscitated 

 grubs dig with clumsy efforts into their bed 

 of mould; they dive into it and disappear to 

 a depth of about two inches. Recovery 

 seems to be imminent. 



I am mistaken. In June I unearth the 

 invalids. This time, the larvae are dead; 

 their brown colour tells me as much. I ex- 

 pected better things. Never mind: this is 

 no trifling success. For nine months, nine 

 long months, the grubs stabbed by the 

 Scolia kept fresh and alive. Towards the 

 end, torpor was dispelled, strength and 

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