The Osmiae 



needs be born on the central mass, where it 

 has only to bend Its head a little way in order 

 to find what its delicate stomach calls for. 

 The place of the egg, therefore, fixed upright 

 by Its base In the middle of the red jam, is 

 most judiciously chosen. What a contrast 

 between this exquisite maternal forethought 

 and the horrible destruction by the Anthrax 

 and the Midge! 



The egg is rather large for the size of the 

 Osmla. It Is cylindrical, slightly curved, 

 rounded at both ends and transparent. It 

 soon becomes cloudy, while remaining dia- 

 phanous at each extremity. Fine lines, hardly 

 perceptible to the most penetrating lens, show 

 themselves in transverse circles. These are 

 the first signs of segmentation. A contraction 

 appears in the front hyaline part, marking 

 the head. An extremely thin, opaque thread 

 runs down either side. This is the cord of 

 trachea? communicating between one breath- 

 ing-hole and another. At last, the segments 

 show distinctly, with their lateral pads. The 

 grub Is born. 



At first one would think that there was 

 no hatching In the proper sense of the word, 

 that is to say, no bursting and casting of a 



87 



