secure from the bees, whose stings can not penetrate the horny mail in which it is incased.

THERE is another beetle which is parasitic upon snails, and which, in its larval and pupal states, is only to be found within those molluscs. Its scientific name is Drilus flavescens, the latter name being given to it in honor of its yellow-tinted wing-cases, which present a pretty contrast with the black thorax. It is a little beetle, scarcely exceeding a quarter of an inch in length, and is remarkable for the beautiful comb-like antennæ of the male. As for the female, she is so unlike her mate that she has been described as a different insect. She has no pretensions to beauty, and can scarcely be recognized as a beetle, her form being that of a mere soft-bodied grub. Moreover, the size of the two sexes is notably different. The male is, as has already been observed, only about a quarter of an inch long, while the female is not far from an inch in length, and is broader than the length of her mate, antennæ included.

This curious insect lives in the body of snails, the common banded snail of our gardens being its usual prey. When it is about to change into the perfect state, it makes a curious cocoon of a fibrous substance, which has been well likened to common tobacco, the scent as well as the form increasing the resemblance. The grub or larva of this beetle bears a very great resemblance to the perfect female, and, indeed, is so similar that none but an entomologist could distinguish the two creatures. It is furnished with a number of false legs, as well as with a forked appendage at the end of the tail, by which it is enabled to force its way into the body of its victims. The head is pointed, and the jaws are very powerful.

CHAPTER XXVII.

BRANCH-BUILDING MAMMALIA.

The DORMOUSE in Confinement and at Liberty.-Nest of the Dormouse.-Its Position, Materials, and Dimensions.—Entrance to the Nest.-The winter Treasury. -The LOIRE and the LEROT.-Man as a Branch-builder.-Moselekatze. -His Conquests.-Effects upon the People. -Branch-houses.-Their Approaches.

We now come to another division of the subject, namely, the nests that are built in branches, and, adhering to the system which has been followed through the progress of the work, we shall take first the branch-building mammalia.

There are but few mammals which can be reckoned in this division, but our little island produces two of them, namely, the Squirrel and the DORMOUSE (Muscardinus avellanarius). The former of these animals has been already described at page 217.

The pretty little brown-coated, white-bellied Dormouse is familiar to all who have been fond of keeping pets. There is no difficulty in preserving the animal in health, and, therefore, it is a favorite among those who like to keep animals and do not like the trouble of looking after them. It is, however, rather an uninteresting animal when kept in a cage, as it sleeps during the greater part of the day, and the sight of a round ball of brown fur is not particularly amusing.

When kept in confinement, it is obliged to make for itself a very inartificial nest, because it is deprived of proper materials and a suitable locality. It does its best with the soft hay and cotton wool which are usually provided for it, but it can not do much with such materials. But when in a state of liberty, and able to work in its own manner, it is an admirable nest-maker. As it passes the day in sleep, it must needs have some retired domicile in which it can be hidden from the many enemies which might attack a sleeping animal.

One of these nests is depicted in the illustration, and the specimen from which it is drawn forms a part of my collection. It was situated in a hedge about four feet from the ground, and, as may be seen by reference to the illustration, is placed in the forking of a hazel branch, the smaller twigs of which form a kind of

palisade round it. The substances of which it is composed are of two kinds, namely, grass-blades and leaves of trees, the former being the chief material. It is exactly six inches in length by three inches in width, and is constructed in a very ingenious manner, reminding the observer of the pensile nests made by the weaver birds, which have already been described at page 219.

Two or three kinds of grass are used, the greater part being the well-known sword-grass, whose sharp edges cut the fingers of a careless handler. The blades are twisted round the twigs and through the interstices until they form a hollow nest, rather oval in shape. Toward the bottom the finer sorts of grass are used, as well as some stems of delicate climbing weeds, which are no larger than ordinary thread, and which serve to bind the mass together. Interwoven with the grass are several leaves, none of which belong to the branch, and which are indeed of two kinds, namely, hazel and maple, and have evidently been picked up from the ditch which bounded the hedge. Their probable use is to shield the inmate from the wind, which would penetrate through the interstices of the loosely woven grass-blades.

The entrance to the nest is so ingeniously concealed, that to find it is not a very easy matter, even when its precise position is known; and in order to show the manner in which it is constructed, one of the Dormice is represented in the act of drawing aside the grass-blades that conceal it. The pendent pieces of grass that are being held aside by the little paw are so fixed that when released from pressure they spring back over the aperture, and conceal it in a very effectual manner.

Although the Dormouse uses this aerial house as a residence, it does not make use of it as a treasury. Like many other hibernating animals, it collects a store of winter food, which generally consists of nuts, grain, and similar substances. These treasures are carefully hidden away in the vicinity of the nest, and in the illustration the animal is shown as eating a nut which it has taken from one of its store-houses beneath the thick branch. During the winter the animal does not feed much upon its stores, inasmuch as it is buried in the curious state of hibernation during the cold months. At the beginning of spring, however, the hibernation passes off, and is replaced by ordinary sleep, with intervals of wakefulness.

Now, while the animal hibernates, the tissues of the body undergo scarcely any change, even though no nutriment be taken.