y. I replace the worthless carcase by two small Locustidae. At
first the larva does not touch them, being amply sated with the copious
meal of the day before. In the afternoon, however, one of the items is
resolutely attacked.

4 AUGUST.--I renew the victuals, although those of the day before are
not finished. For the rest, I do the same daily, so that my charge may
constantly have fresh food at hand. High game might upset its stomach.
My Locustidae are not victims at the same time living and inert,
operated upon according to the delicate method of the insects that
paralyse their prey; they are corpses, procured by a brutal crushing
of the head. With the temperature now prevailing, flesh soon becomes
tainted; and this compels me frequently to renew the provisions in my
sardine-box refectory. Two specimens are served up. One is attacked soon
afterwards; and the larva clings to it assiduously.

5 AUGUST.--The ravenous appetite of the start is becoming assuaged.
My supplies may well be too generous; and it might be prudent to try a
little dieting after this Gargantuan good cheer. The mother certainly is
more parsimonious. If all the family were to eat at the same rate as
my guest, she would never be able to keep pace with their demands.
Therefore, for reasons of health, this is a day of fasting and vigil.

6 AUGUST.--Supplies are renewed with two Phaneropterae. One is consumed
entirely; the other is bitten into.

7 August.--To-day's ration is tasted and then abandoned. The larva seems
uneasy. With its pointed mouth it explores the walls of its chamber.
This sign denotes the approach of the time for making the cocoon.

8 AUGUST.--During the night the larva has spun its silken eel-trap. It
is now encrusting it with grains of sand. Then follow, in due time, the
normal phases of the metamorphosis. Fed on Locustidae, a diet unknown to
its race, the larva passes through its several stages without any more
difficulty than its brothers and sisters fed on Flies.

I obtained the same success in offering young Mantes for food. One
of the larvae thus served would even incline me to believe that
it preferred the new dish to the traditional diet of its race. Two
Eristales, or Drone-flies, and a Praying Mantis an inch long composed
its daily allowance. The Drone-flies are disdained from the first
mouthful; and the Mantis, already tasted and apparently found excellent,
causes the Fly to be completely forgotten. Is this an epicure's