BURGLARS 299 



In spring — about April or May — they wake up, 

 and begin to look about them. Should any hairy 

 insect come within reach they seize upon it, whether 

 it be bee, fly, or beetle, and as a result the vast 

 majority fail to proceed farther on their proper 

 way of life. The first of the new Antho-phoras to 

 issue from their cells are males ; and as these 

 hang about in the burrows for a few days until 

 their wings and integuments have hardened pro- 

 perly, a number of the Sitaris triungulins have a 

 good opportunity for attaching themselves, and 

 they take advantage of it. 



But they appear to know that they have not yet 

 got hold of the insect that can directly help them 

 to work out their destiny. About a month later 

 the female bees emerge, and as these are being 

 courted by the males, the triungulins contrive to 

 transfer themselves from one to the other. The 

 females busy themselves, of course, in the making 

 of cells, and the triungulin, knowing that it has 

 reached its destination, gets off as soon as the bee 

 lays an egg on the store of honey. 



The cell is sealed up, and the little Sitaris com- 

 mences to feed upon the egg. This repast lasts 

 about eight days, and then it casts its skin, and 

 emerges as a very different creature, with exceed- 

 ingly short legs and a shortened inflated body which 

 enables it to float on the honey with safety. Its 

 spiracles or breathing-holes are placed along each 

 side of the back, instead of along the sides as usual 

 in larvae, so that it can breathe without risk of 



