The Return to the Nest 



does she not rush to her beloved nurseling? 

 She could dig it a new dwelling and swiftly 

 place it in safety underground. But no : the 

 mother persists in seeking a passage that no 

 longer exists, while her child is grilling in 

 the sun before her eyes. My surprise is in- 

 tense in the presence of this short-sighted 

 mother, though the sense of motherhood is 

 the most powerful and resourceful of all the 

 feelings that stir the animal creation. I 

 should hardly believe the evidence of my 

 eyes but for experiments endlessly repeated 

 with Cerceres and Philanthi as well as with 

 Bembex of different species. 



Here is something more remarkable still: 

 the mother, after prolonged hesitation, at 

 last enters the roofless trench, all that re- 

 mains of the original corridor. She goes 

 forward, draws back, goes forward again, 

 giving a few careless sweeps, here and there, 

 without stopping. Guided by vague recol- 

 lections and perhaps also by the smell of 

 game emitted by the heap of Flies, she oc- 

 casionally reaches the end of the gallery, the 

 very spot at which the larva lies. Mother 

 and son are now together. At this moment 

 of meeting after long suffering, have we a 

 display of eager solicitude, exuberant affec- 

 347 



