238 INDIRECT BENEFITS DERIVED FROM INSECTS. 



The badger. Lesser informs us, will eat beetles : and its kins- 

 man the bear has the character of being very fond of ants and 

 of honey ; which last is also said to be a favourite article with 

 the fox, who has sometimes the audacity to overturn bee-hives, 

 and even to attack wasps' nests in search of it. He will also 

 eat beetles. 



Sparrman has given an amusing account of the honey-ratel 

 ( Vivella mellivora), which has a particular instinct enabling it 

 to discover bees, and attack them in their entrenchments. 

 Near sunset the ratel will sit and hold one of his paws before 

 his eyes, in order to get a distinct view of the object of his 

 pursuit ; and when, in consequence of his peering about in 

 this manner, he sees any bees flying, he knows that at this 

 time of the day they are making for their habitations, 

 whither he follows them, and so attains his end.^ Another 

 species of Viverra ( V, prehensilis) is also reputed to be an 

 eager insect hunter. The young armadillos feed on a species 

 of locust ; but no quadruped can with more propriety be 

 called insectivorous than the ant-eaters {Myrmecopliagd)^ 

 which, as their name imports, live upon ants. The great 

 ant-eater, when he comes to an ant-hill, scratches it up with 

 his lono; claws, and then unfolds his slender worm-like tono^ue 

 (which is more than two feet long, and wet with saliva), and 

 when covered with ants draws it back into his mouth and 

 swallows thousands of them alive, renewing the operation 

 till no more are to be found. He also climbs trees in search 

 of wood-lice and wild-honey. Bats, as every one knows, are 

 always flitting about in summer evenings, hawking for insects : 

 and the Lemur and monkeys will also eat them. 



Insects likewise aflbrd a favourite kind of food to many 

 reptiles : the tortoise ; frogs and toads ; and lizards too of 

 diflerent kinds. St. Pierre mentions a small and very hand- 

 some species in the island of Mauritius, that pursues them 

 into the houses, climbs up the walls, and even walks over 

 glass, watching with great patience for an opportunity of 

 catching them.^ The common snake also is said to receive 

 part of its nutriment from them. 



1 Sparrman, ii. 180. 



2 St. Pierre, Voy, 73. 



