bite at the spot where it has just been born. The mother, with
her unfailing instinct, has already made the dangerous choice; she
has stuck her egg on the propitious spot and, by the very act of
doing so, marked out the course for the inexperienced grub to
follow. The tact of ripe age here guides the young larva's
behavior at table.

The conditions are very different in the Anthrax' case. The egg
is not placed upon the victuals, it is not even laid in the mason
bee's cell. This is the natural consequence of the mother's
feeble frame and of her lack of any instrument, such as a probe or
auger, capable of piercing the mortar wall. It is for the newly
hatched grub to make its own way into the dwelling. It enters,
finds itself in the presence of ample provisions, the larva of the
mason bee. Free of its actions, it is at liberty to attack the
prey where it chooses; or rather the attacking point will be
decided at haphazard by the first contact of the mouth in quest of
food. Grant this mouth a set of carving tools, jaws and
mandibles; in short, suppose the grub of the Fly to possess a
manner of eating similar to that of the other carnivorous larvae;
and the nursling is at once threatened with a speedy death. He
will split open his nurse's belly, he will dig without any rule to
guide him, he will bite at random, essentials as well as
accessories; and, from one day to the next, he will set up
gangrene in the violated mass, even as I myself do when I give it
a wound. For the lack of an attacking point prescribed for him at
birth, he will perish on the damaged provisions. His freedom of
action will have killed him.

Certainly, liberty is a noble attribute, even in an insignificant