The Halicti : Parthenogenesis 



the Cylindrical Hallctus, in order to seize the 

 favourable moment that would verify my sus- 

 picions. For six weeks, solitude reigned above 

 the burrows: not a single Halictus appeared; 

 and the path, trodden by the wayfarers, lost its 

 little heaps of rubbish, the only signs of the 

 excavations. There was nothing outside to 

 show that the warmth down below was hatch- 

 ing populous swarms. 



July comes and already a few little mounds 

 of fresh earth betoken work going on under- 

 ground in preparation for an exodus in the 

 near future. As the males, among the Hy- 

 menoptera, are generally further advanced 

 than the females and quit their natal cells 

 earlier, it was important that I should witness 

 the first exits made, so as to dispel the least 

 shadow of a doubt, A violent exhumation 

 would have a great advantage over the natural 

 exit: it would place the population of the bur- 

 rows immediately under my eyes, before the 

 departure of either sex. In this way, nothing 

 could escape me and I was dispensed from a 

 watch which, for all its attcntivencss, was not 

 to be relied upon absolutely. I therefore re- 

 solve upon a reconnaissance with the spade. 



I dig down to the full depth of the galleries 



435 



