130 INSECT BEHAVIOR 



a sea of life thriving upon death. They are the offspring of the 

 greenbottle flies that hover about. Here indeed is food for thought. 

 A repulsive sight perhaps, but let us forget about that part of it, in 

 order to realize the beauty of what Nature is accomplishing. 



Nature has long since learned that she cannot rely upon Man to 

 restore the life that he has taken nor even to erase his crime by burying 

 the corpse, yet she cannot tolerate the sight of death. If she did our 

 land would be strewn with the mummies of ages. She cannot bury 

 her creatures unaided. Instead she sends broadcast her tainted 

 messengers, who marshal others to her aid. Thus we see her reason 

 for the odor of decay. 



Attracted by this special odor, the mother flies come from far and 

 near to deposit their eggs, thus securing the future of their race. 

 Hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands are deposited 

 and hatched until a great army is mobilized upon whom Nature may 

 rely. In a short time that which was but a mass of something dead 

 and repulsive, becomes the separate bodies of myriad living creatures. 

 Every atom of the squirrel disappears and becomes a part of a new 

 life. True, the squirrel's bones remain, but they are mineral matter. 

 They will go back into the earth where they belong and Nature will 

 have restored her balance. 



Examining one of the maggots, we find it to be a soft-bodied 

 creature, milk colored, with a head somewhat darker than the rest of 

 its body. It is tapered, like a kernel of corn viewed sidewise, the head 

 appearing at the narrowest end, and is capable of a rapid rippling 

 motion by contracting and expanding its muscles. At birth it is no 

 larger than a flattened pinhead and at no time during its life is it sup- 

 plied with mandibles or other appendages suitable for tearing or 

 masticating its food. The mouth is soft and extremely minute ; there 

 are no sharp claws, no teeth. In fact it possesses nothing but two 

 weak lips that could scarcely caress their host. How then does such 



