60 



WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 



their locations, and quite a large percentage 

 of their larvae become the victims of para- 

 sites. 



In season Deerwood is one of the most 

 popular places with the yellow jackets, Vespa 

 Germanica, and the so-called hornets, Vespa 

 Maculata. The latter are larger than the for- 

 mer and are black marked with white. They 

 are rather vicious in disposition and it is well 

 to give their nests a wide berth. One of 

 their habits is making game and food out of 

 their cousins, the yellow jackets, which our 

 folks last fall were disposed to regard as a 

 redeeming feature in the character and repu- 

 tation of the white-faced hornet, owing to the 

 great number of the yellow jackets that per- 

 sisted in obtruding themselves about the 

 house, provender and cooking. Up to the time 

 we took our departure from Deerwood at the 

 end of the visit of which I am writing, not a 

 single specimen of yellow jacket or hornet had 

 put in an appearance. However, in a very 

 short time they would have outnumbered the 

 bees. 



Nature has a time for everything in insect 

 life. Some particular kinds appear early in 

 the year and pass through all the changes 

 that characterize their career of life and are 

 seen no more until another year rolls around; 

 some are with us, objectionably so, from 

 early spring to late fall; while others follow 

 along in the order of their adaption to sea- 

 sonal and food conditions, go through the 

 routine of the existence of the species, and 

 disappear. Similarly the activities of the ma- 

 jority of insects are . confined to certain dif- 

 ferent hours of the days. Some confine their 

 operations to daylight hours, while many are 

 exclusively nocturnal in their habits, and re- 

 main hidden away during the day. Even of 

 the daylight species, some are to be seen at 

 certain hours only. Some waiting until the 

 air is warmed by the morning sun, some 

 that are active for only three or four hours 

 in the middle of the day, while there are 

 others that do not show themselves until the 

 shadows of the setting sun are elongated over 

 their habitations, or the sun itself has dis- 

 appeared below the horizon. One of the ex- 

 ceptions to these features in insect life is the 

 mosquito. It is always with us in the vicinity 

 of water suitable for the propagation of the 

 pest. 



"Tumble bug" is the name commonly ap- 

 plied to certain species of Scarabaeidae that 

 are quite common in the United States, and 

 many other parts of the world. It gets its 

 common name from its curious habit of rolling 

 little balls of animal excrement along the 

 ground to some place suitable to its purpose 

 where it buries it. Some authorities say the 

 ball is for its own food, others say it is a 

 provision for its larvae. Perhaps both are 

 correct. The tumble bug Is a chunky little 

 fellow, and like many other members of the 

 Scrarbaeidae family is almost as broad as it 

 is long. They vary somewhat in size. Much 

 has been written about the habits of this 

 group of beetles, but the statement of some 

 of the observers do not always agree. Fabre, 

 the famous naturalist, gave much time to the 



study of their habits and some of his most 

 interesting writings relate to the life history of 

 these beetles. He says that at first they pro- 

 cure and bury this peculiar food for them- 

 selves, storing enough under ground to last 

 them through the hot days of summer, where 

 they quietly remain during that season, 

 emerging again in the fall to store a larger 

 underground chamber with dung as provender 

 for their young. 



I had the opportunity of watching the op- 

 erations of members of this particular kind 

 of beetle at Deerwood one afternoon. The 

 species was identified as Canthon Militants. 

 They were little fellows about three-eighths 

 of an inch long. A day or so before a drove 

 of sheep had been driven by the place where 

 we found the beetles. It was droppings from 

 these sheep that three beetles were rolling 

 along the hard ground, all going in the same 

 direction, apparently, as it afterwards ap- 

 peared, to a spot where there was some rather 

 loose sandy soil. The sheep droppings were 

 spherical and considerable larger than the 

 "bugs," and it was remarkable to note the ease 

 and speed with which they moved the load 

 along. Each of the three beetles had a ball, 

 but on one, which I will refer to hereafter as 

 Number one, was a motionless beetle, firmly 

 clasping the sphere with all of its outspread 

 legs. The movement was given to the balls 

 by the beetles standing on their front and 

 middle legs, walking backwards, pushing and 

 directing the load with their hind legs and 

 feet. "Where the ground was free from rock 

 fragments and grass stalks, rapid progress was 

 made and the rolling over and over did not 

 seem to disconcert the beetle riding on num- 

 ber one, whatever the bug pushing may have 

 thought about the extra work imposed on it 

 by the bettle insisting on "dead-heading" it. 

 Occasionally the push-beetle would stop, 

 leave the ball and walk around it, as if in- 

 specting the obstacles impeding its work. A 

 few times it stopped when there were no im- 

 pediments. Whether it was to rest or to ex- 

 amine the soil a£ to its fitness to bury the 

 ball, who could say? However, afterwards I 

 was inclined to think the stoppage was for 

 the latter, for finally it came to the place with 

 loose soil and there stopped and walked about 

 the ball for a few seconds, never going farther 

 away than an inch or so. Expecting it to re- 

 sume its travels I was surprised to see it take 

 a position alongside of the ball and commence 

 to crawl, into the earth. The bug did not dig 

 a hole in which to enter but just forced its 

 way down into the loose soil. It was soon out 

 of sight, but I could see that it was moving 

 still by the heaving of the surface of the 

 ground for a space of about the diameter of 

 a half dollar. Now the ball began to sink, 

 which seemed to be the cue for the beginning 

 of the actions of the beetle that had been 

 motionless on the ball all this time. It sud- 

 denly slid off the ball and putting its hind 

 feet against it quickly rolled the ball out of 

 the pit that was opening to receive it, and 

 then began pushing it away, and succeeded in 

 moving it about 20 inches, where it was 

 stalled by getting in among some broken 



