. Animal physiology. Physiology, Comparative; Physiology, Comparative. PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR 525 When the female is about to lay her eggs, she seeks for the dead body of a Mole, Shrew, or such other small quadruped; and having found one, she excavates beneath it a hole of sufficient dimensions to contain the body, which she gradually drags into it; she then deposits her eggs in the carcase, so that the larvae, when they come forth, find themselves in the midst of a supply of carrion, on which they feed, like their parents. This instinct is still more remarkable, when an Insect, whose
. Animal physiology. Physiology, Comparative; Physiology, Comparative. PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR 525 When the female is about to lay her eggs, she seeks for the dead body of a Mole, Shrew, or such other small quadruped; and having found one, she excavates beneath it a hole of sufficient dimensions to contain the body, which she gradually drags into it; she then deposits her eggs in the carcase, so that the larvae, when they come forth, find themselves in the midst of a supply of carrion, on which they feed, like their parents. This instinct is still more remarkable, when an Insect, whose diet is exclusively vegetable, prepares for its larva a supply of animal food. Such is the case with the Pompilus, an Insect allied to the Wasp. In its perfect state, it lives entirely on the juices of flowers; but the larvae are carnivorous; and the mother provides for them the requisite supply of the food they require, by placing in the nest, by the side of the eggs, the body of a Spider or Caterpillar, which she had previously killed. Fig. 259.— Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Carpenter, William Benjamin, 1813-1885. London : Wm. S. Orr and Co.
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