CHAPTER XVI. The Anthrax Fly 249

THE ANTHRAX FLY 249

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE SACRED BEETLE Frontispiece

Sometimes the Scarab seems to enter into partnership with a friend

THE CICADA FACING PAGE

In July, when most of the insects in my sunny country are parched with thirst, the Cicada remains perfectly cheerful 26

THE PRAYING MANTIS

A long time ago, in the days of ancient Greece, this insect was named Mantis, or the Prophet 42

PELOPÆUS SPIRIFEX

When finished the work is amber-yellow, and rather reminds one of the outer skin of an onion 80

THE PSYCHES

This is the secret of the walking bundle of sticks. It is a Faggot Caterpillar, belonging to the group known as the Psyches 90

THE SPANISH COPRIS

The burrow is almost filled by three or four ovoid nests, standing one against the other, with the pointed end upwards 116

THE WHITE-FACED DECTICUS

The Greek word dectikos means biting, fond of biting. The Decticus is well named. It is eminently an insect given to biting 130

COMMON WASPS

The wasp’s nest is made of a thin, flexible material like brown paper, formed of particles of wood 144

THE FIELD CRICKET

Here is one of the humblest of creatures able to lodge himself to perfection. He has a home; he has a peaceful retreat, the first condition of comfort 180

THE SISYPHUS

The mother harnesses herself in the place of honour, in front. The father pushes behind in the reverse position, head downwards 204

ITALIAN LOCUSTS

“I have buried underground,” she says, “the treasure of the future” 238

THE ANTHRAX FLY

Her delicate suit of downy velvet, from which you take the bloom by merely breathing on it, could not withstand the contact of rough tunnels 258

FABRE’S BOOK OF INSECTS