THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 145 



invader, and pierces it with his dart. Assailed with fury, 

 wounded on all sides, and poisoned by the venom, the 

 creeping animal dies in violent contortions. But what is to 

 be done with such a weighty foe ? The little feet of all the 

 tribe would not suffice to stir the corpse, and the narrow 

 door of the hive would not allow it to pass. Its putrid ex- 

 halations would, however, soon infect the colony, and de- 

 velop the germ of some malady. How are they to escape 

 from this dilemma ? 



The republic take counsel, and come suddenly to just 



76. Young of the Reduvius personatus; the one covered with its tatters of dust and 

 spider-threads, the other freed from these by brushing. 



such a resolution as they would have done if they had 

 thoroughly known one of the arts of ancient Egypt. As 

 under the Pharaohs men embalmed the corpses of animals, 

 either with a religious view or to preserve themselves from 

 their pestilential emanations, so all the bees now set to 

 work to embalm the dead animal, the presence of which is 

 a menace to them. For this purpose the workers scatter 

 themselves over the country in order to gather the resinous 

 matter (propolis) which clings to the buds; for this is what 

 replaces the essences and aloes used by the undertakers of 



the Theba'id. The bees closely envelop the dead body with 

 10 



