The IlalictI *. a Parasite 



mole-hills now turned Into craters. Let us 

 first look into the question of the house. The 

 arrangement of the home will give us some 

 useful information. A spade and a three- 

 pronged fork place the insect's crypts before 

 our eyes. 



A shaft as nearly vertical as possible, 

 straight or winding according to the exigen- 

 cies of a soil rich In flinty remains, descends to 

 a depth of between eight and twelve Inches. 

 As it Is merely a passage in which the only 

 thing necessary Is that the Halictus should 

 find an easy support in coming and going, 

 this long entrance-hall is rough and uneven. 

 A regular shape and a polished surface would 

 be out of place here. These artistic refine- 

 ments are reserved for the apartments of her 

 young. All that the Halictus mother asks 

 is that the passage should be easy to go up 

 and down, to ascend or descend In a hurry. 

 And so she leaves It rugged. Its width is 

 about that of a thick lead-pencil. 



Arranged one by one, horizontally and at 

 different heights, the cells occupy the basement 

 of the house. They are oval cavities, threc- 

 (juarters of an inch long, dug out of the clay 

 mass. They end In a short bottle-neck that 



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