Cerocomae, Mylabres and Zonites 



through her mandibles, then moves away and 

 climbs to the top of the dome without at- 

 tempting anything. In each of these three 

 cases I have to finish filling in the pit myself. 

 What then are this maternity, which the 

 touch of a brush causes to forget its duties, 

 and this memory, which is lost at a distance 

 of an inch from the spot? Compare with 

 these shortcomings of the adult the expert 

 machinations of the primary larva, which 

 knows where its victuals are and as its first 

 action introduces itself into the dwelling of 

 the host that is to feed it. How can time and 

 experience be factors of instinct? The new- 

 born animalcule amazes us with its foresight; 

 the adult insect astonishes us with its stu- 

 pidity. 



With both Mylabres, the batch consists of 

 some forty eggs, a very small number com- 

 pared with those of the Oil-beetle and the 

 Sitaris. This limited family was already 

 foreseen, judging by the short space of time 

 which the egg-layer spends in her under- 

 ground lodging. The eggs of the Twelve- 

 spotted Mylabris are white, cylindrical, 

 rounded at both ends and measure a milli- 

 metre and a half in length by half a milli- 

 metre in width. 1 Those of the Four-spotted 



1 .058 x .019 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 173 



