with fat, it is a rich and defenseless morsel for whoever is able
to reach it. Then, in spite of apparently insurmountable
obstacles, the mortar wall and the tent without an opening, the
flesh-eating larvae appeared in the secret retreat and are now
glutting themselves on the sleeper. Three different species take
part in the carnage, often in the same nest, in adjoining cells.
The diversity of shapes informs us of the presence of more than
one enemy; the final stage of the creatures will tell us the names
and qualities of the three invaders.

Forestalling the secrets. of the future for the sake of greater
clearness, I will anticipate the actual facts and come at once to
the results produced. When it is by itself on the body of the
mason bee's larva, the murderous grub belongs either to Anthrax
trifasciata, MEIGEN, or to Leucospis gigas, FAB. But, if numerous
little worms, often a score and more, swarm around the victim,
then it is a Chalcidid's family which we have before us. Each of
these ravagers shall have its biography. Let us begin with the
Anthrax.

And first the grub, as it is after consuming its victim, when it
remains the sole occupant of the mason bee's cocoon. It is a
naked worm, smooth, legless and blind, of a creamy dead white,
each segment a perfect ring, very much curved when at rest, but
with the tendency to become almost straight when disturbed.
Through the diaphanous skin, the lens distinguishes patches of
fat, which are the cause of its characteristic coloring. When
younger, as a tiny grub a few millimeters long, it is streaked
with two different kinds of stains, some white, opaque and of a
creamy tint, others translucent and of the palest amber. The