ii. J METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS. 31 



unnaturally expected that the young larvae, which are 

 active little creatures with six serviceable legs (Fig. 9), 

 would at once eat their way into the cells of the An- 

 thophora. No such thing : till the month of April 

 following they remain without leaving their birthplace, 

 and consequently without food ; nor do they in this 

 long time change either in form or size. M. Fabre 

 ascertained this, not only by examining the burrows 

 of the Anthophoras, but also by direct observation of 

 some young larvae kept in captivity. In April, however, 

 his captives at last awoke from their long lethargy, 

 and hurried anxiously about their prisons. Naturally 

 inferring that they were in search of food, M. Fabre 

 supposed that this would consist either of the larvae 

 or pupae of the Anthophora, or of the honey with 

 which it stores its cell. All three were tried without 

 success. The first two were neglected, and the larvae, 

 when placed on the latter, either hurried away, or 

 perished in the attempt, being evidently unable to 

 deal with the sticky substance. M. Fabre was in 

 despair : " Jamais experience," he says, " n'a eprouve" 

 pareille deconfiture. Larves, nymphes, cellules, miel, 

 je vous ai tous offert; que voulez-vous done, bestioles 

 maudites ? " The first ray of light came to him from 

 our countryman, Newport, who ascertained that a 

 small parasite found by Leon Dufour on one of the 

 wild bees, and named by him Triungulinus, was, in 

 fact, the larva of Meloe. The larvae of Sitaris much 

 resembled Dufour's Triungulinus ; and acting on this 

 hint, M. Fabre examined many specimens of Antho- 

 phora, and found on them at last the larvae of his 

 Sitaris. The males of Anthophora emerge from the 



