20 THE FOSSORS OR DIGGERS 



pillars which seem to be the most doughty in 

 deeds of force. One, a very rare kind in this 

 country, sets its affection especially on the 

 honey bee as a prey ; the two insects are about 

 equal in size, but the hive bee must be a danger- 

 ous foe to attack, and one would have thought 

 as likely to sting its captor as its captor would 

 be to sting it ; also one would imagine that a 

 hive bee, unless thoroughly paralyzed, would 

 be a dangerous subject for a juvenile larva to 

 commence making a meal upon ! but whether 

 the venture ever turns out unsatisfactorily there 

 are no data to show, so far as I am aware. 

 The larvae must vary very much in their tastes ; 

 one can imagine that a nice juicy caterpillar, 

 or even a good fat grasshopper, may be appetizing 

 and easily assimilated, but one can equally fancy 

 that the larvse, who wake up to find their food 

 consisting of small hard beetles, may feel more 

 or less resentment against their parents' ideas 

 of dainties for the young ! Still they seem to 

 thrive on it, and come out eventually as exact 

 likenesses of their parents. A large number of 

 the fossors inhabit dry sandy wastes, such as 

 the dunes along the sea coast at Deal, Lowestoft, 



