The Bembex 



four hours hence. The Bembex had no need 

 to reenter the underground passage for some 

 time and was confining herself to keeping a 

 good look-out all round, or perhaps to dig- 

 ging fresh burrows and continuing to lay her 

 eggs, one by one, eacli in a cell to itself. 



This peculiarity of beginning the pro- 

 visioning with a single head of small game 

 is not confined to the Rostrate Bembex. All 

 the other species do the same thing. If we 

 open the cell of any Bembex shortly after the 

 egg is laid, we shall always find the tiny cyl- 

 inder glued to the side of a Fly, who consti- 

 tutes the entire provision; moreover, this in- 

 itial ration is invariably small, as though the 

 mother went in search of the tenderest mouth- 

 fuls for the feeble nurseling. Besides, an- 

 other reason, the abiding freshness of the 

 food, might easily prompt her to make this 

 choice. We will look into that later. This 

 first portion, always a scanty one, varies 

 greatly in nature, according to the frequency 

 of this or that kind of game in the neighbour- 

 hood of the nest. It is sometimes a Green- 

 bottle, sometimes a Stomoxys, or some small 

 Eristalis, sometimes a dainty Bee-fly clad in 

 black velvet; but the most usual dish is a slim- 

 bellied Sphaerophoria. 

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