The Travellers 



attraction for Ladybirds; nothing suggested 

 the secret of these crowded gatherings on 

 masonry situated at a great height. Were 

 these again instances of entomological migra- 

 tion? Were they general musterings, similar 

 to that of the Swallows on the day before 

 their common departure? Were they meet- 

 ing-places whence the swarm of Ladybirds 

 was to make for some district richer in 

 edibles? It is possible, but it is also very 

 extraordinary. The Ladybird has rarely 

 been noted as a devotee of travel. She seems 

 to us a very stay-at-home creature when we 

 see her butchering the Green-fly on our rose- 

 trees and the Black-fly on our beans ; and yet, 

 with her short wings, she holds plenary as- 

 semblies, in immense numbers, on the summit 

 of Mont Ventoux, where the Martin himself 

 ascends only at moments of violent energy. 

 Why these meetings at such altitudes? 

 What can be the reason of this predilection 

 for blocks of masonry? 



249 



