412 MEANS OF DEFENCE OF INSECTS. 
This insect, when alarmed, rolls itself up into a little ball. In this attitude 
its legs and the underside of the body, which are soft, are entirely covered 
and defended by the hard crust that forms the upper surface of the animal, 
These balls are perfectly spherical, black and shining, and belted with 
narrow white bands, so as to resemble beautiful beads; and could they be 
preserved in this form and strung, would make very ornamental necklaces 
and bracelets. At least so thought Swammerdam’s maid, who, finding a 
number of these insects thus rolled up in her master’s garden, mistaking 
them for beads, employed herself in stringing them on a thread ; when, to 
her great surprise, the poor animals beginning to move and struggle for 
their liberty, crying out and running away in the utmost alarm, she threw 
down her prize! The golden-wasp tribe also (Chrysidid@), all of which I 
suspect to be parasitic insects, roll themselves up, as I have often observed, 
into a little ball when alarmed, and can thus secure themselves— the 
upper surface of the body being remarkably hard, and impenetrable to 
their weapons — from the stings of those Hymenoptera whose nests they 
enter with the view of depositing their eggs in their offspring. Latreille 
noticed this attitude in Parnopes carnea, which, he tells us, Bembew ro- 
strata pursues, though it attacks no other similar insect, with great fury ; 
and, seizing it with its feet, attempts to dispatch it with its sting, from 
which it thus secures itself.2 M. Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau, to whom 
entomology is indebted for so many new facts relative to the manners of 
hymenopterous insects, has given us a striking account of a contest be- 
tween the art of one of these parasites (Hedychrum regium) and the 
courage of one of the mason-bees, in endeavouring to defend its nest from 
its attack. The mason-bee had partly finished one of her cells, and flown 
away to collect a store of pollen and honey. During her absence the 
female parasitic Hedychrum, after having examined this cell by entering it 
head foremost, came out again, and walking backwards, had begun to 
introduce the posterior part of her body into it, preparatory to deposit- 
ing an egg, when the mason-bee arriving laden with her pollen paste threw 
herself upon her enemy, which, availing herself of the means of defence 
above advyerted to, rolied herself up into a compact ball, with nothing but 
the wings exposed, and equally invulnerable to the sting or mandibles of 
her assailant. In one point, however, our little defender of her domicile 
saw that her insidious foe was accessible; and, accordingly, with her 
mandibles cut off her four wings, and let her fall to the ground, and then 
entering her cell with a sort of inquietude, deposited her store of food, 
and flew to the fields for a fresh supply ; but scarcely was she gone before 
the Hedychrum, unrolling herself, and, faithful to her instinct and her object, 
though deprived of her wings, crept up the wall directly to the cell from 
whence she had been precipitated, and quietly placed her egg in it against 
the side below the level of the pollen-paste, so as to prevent the mason-bee 
from seeing it on her return.® ) 
Other insects endeavour to protect themselves from danger by simu- 
lating death, The common dung-chafer (Geotrupes Searcy when 
touched, or in fear, sets out its legs as stiff as if they were made of iron- 
wire —which is their posture when dead —and remaining perfectly 
motionless, thus deceives the rooks which prey upon them, and, like the 
1 Hill’s Swamm. i. 174, 2 Ann. du Mus. 1810, 5-. 
% Encycl, Method. x. 8, Lacordaire, Introd. a 0 Entom, ii, 488. 
