The Bembex 



exudations of the field eringo, sometimes set- 

 tling happily on the burning sand, no doubt 

 watching the outside of the house. Every 

 now and again she sifts the sand at the en- 

 trance; then she flies away and disappears, 

 perhaps to dig other cells elsewhere and to 

 stock them in the same way. But, however 

 long she may stay away, she never forgets 

 the young larva so scantily provided for; the 

 instinct of a mother tells her the hour when 

 the grub has finished its food and is calling 

 for fresh nourishment. She therefore re- 

 turns to the nest, of which she is wonderfully 

 capable of discovering the invisible entrance; 

 she goes down into the earth, this time carry- 

 ing a bulkier piece of game. After depos- 

 iting her prey, she again leaves the house 

 and waits outside till the moment arrives to 

 serve a third course. This moment is not 

 slow in coming, for the larva devours its 

 food with a lusty appetite. Again the 

 mother appears with fresh provisions. 



During nearly a fortnight, while the larva 

 is growing up, the meals thus follow in suc- 

 cession, one by one, as needed, and coming 

 closer together as the nurseling waxes big- 

 ger. Towards the end of the fortnight, it 

 takes all the mother's activity to satisfy the 

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