The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



of the dangers which threaten them. It is 

 easy therefore, in the bank excavated by these 

 two Bees, to recognize the property of either 

 species by the situation and form of the cells 

 and also by their contents, which consist, 

 with the Anthophora, of a naked larva and, 

 with the Osmia, of a larva enclosed in a 

 cocoon. 



On opening a certain number of these co- 

 coons, we end by discovering some which, 

 in place of the Osmia's larva, contain each a 

 curiously shaped nymph. These nymphs, at 

 the least shock received by their dwelling, in- 

 dulge in extravagant movements, lashing the 

 walls with their abdomen till the whole house 

 shakes and dances. And, even if we leave 

 the cocoon intact, we are informed of their 

 presence by a dull rustle heard inside the 

 silken dwelling the moment after we move it. 



The fore-part of this nymph is fashioned 

 like a sort of boar's-snout armed with six 

 strong spikes, a multiple ploughshare, emi- 

 nently adapted for burrowing in the soil. A 

 double row of hooks surmounts the dorsal 

 ring of the four front segments of the ab- 

 domen. These are so many grappling-irons, 

 with whose assistance the creature is en- 

 abled to progress in the narrow gallery dug 

 by the snout. Lastly, a sheaf of sharp points, 

 34 



