112 SEX-LORE 



they have laid their eggs, their purpose in life, the 

 propagation of the species, having been accomplished. 

 Insects lay a tremendous number of eggs, of which 

 only few develop into the larval form. These in 

 their turn stand very little chance of attaining 

 maturity, being greedily devoured by their numerous 

 enemies. It has been calculated that a single 

 sparrow is responsible for the destruction of 3,500 

 caterpillars in a week. Other birds, such as the 

 titmouse and the chaffinch, have been known to 

 dispose of grubs at the same rate. It can thus be 

 easily seen what quantities of eggs must be laid in 

 order to allow for such waste. 



An exception to the rule of complete neglect of 

 the young is found among the bees, which are the 

 intellectual aristocracy of the insects, and in some 

 ways emulate in their domestic arrangements the 

 social development of the higher animals. The larvse 

 of bees are placed in cells. These are, in the case of 

 the solitary bees, constructed by the mother, each cell 

 being packed with a mixture of pollen and honey. 

 Among the social bees, it is the workers who deposit 

 the larvse in the cells; they also collect food and tend 

 the young. Similarly among the wasps and ants 

 the grubs are fed and cared for by the workers. The 

 ants move their young about to different places in 

 the nest, according to conditions of temperature and 

 moisture, and they frequently take them above- 

 ground for an airing. Some species even go out 

 slave-hunting, not unlike primitive human tribes, 

 and domesticate their captured prisoners, the aphides, 

 to serve as milch-cows, coaxing them to yield milk 

 for the young. 



