The Osmiae 



stocked with game/ nimbly deposit her eggs 

 on the Osmia's harvest at the moment when 

 the Bee is going indoors? It is possible, 

 though I cannot say for certain. The fact 

 remains that we soon see the Midge's grub- 

 worms swarming around the larva, the daugh- 

 ter of the house. There are ten, fifteen, 

 twenty or more of them gnawing with their 

 pointed mouths at the common dish and turn- 

 ing the food into a heap of fine, orange- 

 coloured vermicelli. The Bee's grub dies of 

 starvation. It is life, life in all its ferocity 

 even in these tiny creatures. What an ex- 

 penditure of ardent labour, of delicate cares, 

 of wise precautions, to arrive at . . . what? 

 Her offspring sucked and drained dry by the 

 hateful Anthrax; her family sweated and 

 starved by the infernal Tachina. 



The victuals consist mostly of yellow flour. 

 In the centre of the heap, a little honey is 

 disgorged, which turns the pollen-dust into a 

 firm, reddish paste. On this paste the egg is 

 laid, not flat, but upright, with the fore-end 

 free and the hind-end lightly held and fixed 

 in the plastic mass. When hatched, the young 



>Thc cells of the HuntiriR Wasps. — Translator's Note. 



85 



