Chapter 16 The Adventures of Insects and Grubs

1. Bee mites Surrounding the high embankment of the sandy soil in the Carpenras countryside, it is a favorite place for wasps and bees.Why do they like this place so much?The reason is mainly because the sun in this area is very abundant, and this area is also very easy to dig, which is very suitable for wasps and bees to live and work here.In the weather like May, there are mainly two kinds of bees in particular.They are all mason bees, builders of huts underground.One of them is a kind of bee, which builds a defensive barrier at the door of their house-a soil tube that they think is impregnable.There is a blank inside it, and the whole cylinder is curved.The length and width of the cylinder are like a human finger.Sometimes, a lot of bees fly to this area to settle down. When they find the decoration of the slanted earth fingers, everyone will be surprised and don't know what it is.

There is another kind of bee, which we all often see, and their name is the digger bee.The outer openings of their corridors do not have any finger-shaped defensive barriers, but are directly exposed to the outside.Cracks between the stones of old walls, abandoned houses, or exposed surfaces above sand and stones are all good places for the work of the digger bee.But the most ideal and most suitable places, where they often go in groups, are those raised in the ground, facing the straight road to the south.Because I can often see where they dig low roads. The area here is many yards wide, and the walls are often pierced with so many small holes that the field looks like a sponge.These small holes were probably poked out with an awl, because they are so neat, and each hole is connected with the winding corridors, and they are about four or five inches deep.The hive is down here.If we intend to observe the work of these bees, then we must come to their workplaces in the second half of May, but we must pay attention to keeping a certain distance and leaving a considerable distance.This is mainly for security reasons.Then, we will find them gathering together in groups, making noise, and working together, with astonishing perseverance, they are engaged in various tasks related to food and hive.

However, the most frequent time I have come to this place occupied by digger bees is in August and September, which happens to be the period of happy and free summer vacation.In this season, the place near the nest of the digging bee is very peaceful.All the work has already been done.In the crevices, there are many spiders crowded in there, or silk pipes protruding into the corridors of bees.It used to be full of bees, and it was bustling and bustling, but now it seems to have become a miserable and desolate ruin.The reason for this, none of us know.Several inches below the earth's surface, thousands of larvae are enclosed in their soil chambers.They are all quietly waiting for the coming of spring.Of course, these larvae, so weak and unable to rise up and defend themselves, are so fat and so attractive.Must be enough to lure some kind of parasite, or some kind of alien insect that's starving and scrounging for food.This matter is very worthy of study and attention.

Two facts caught my attention.There were some very ugly flies, half black and half white, which flew slowly from one burrow to another.The purpose of their flying around in this way is to show where they lay their eggs.Among them, some eggs were hung on the Internet, and they had long since dried up and died.And in other places, for example, on the cobwebs on the embankment, there are also many dead bodies of a certain beetle, the beetle mite.Among these corpses, there are males and females.However, there are still a few that are alive.The female beetles must have penetrated the dwellings of the bees, and, beyond doubt, they must have laid their eggs in the hives of the bees.

If we slowly and slightly break the surface of the embankment, we will be surprised to find more interesting things.At the beginning of August, what we saw was this: the small rooms on the top floor, their appearance is very different from the hive below, very different.The reason for this difference is mainly because it was built by two different bees.One of them is the Digger Bee mentioned earlier, and the other has a very nice name called the Bamboo Bee. Dig bees form a vanguard.The work of excavating the tunnel is completely contracted by them.They understand that suitable sites must be chosen for their own dwellings.Then, if whatever happened to them, they would leave the small outer room they had worked so hard to build, then the Bamboo Wasp would come in after them and occupy this rare treasure.Bamboo bees will use the very rough soil walls to divide the corridor into many small rooms that are not exactly equal in size and have no artistic features.This is the only architectural concept they can devise.This shows how opportunistic they are, and how little artistic inspiration they have.

The nests built by the digger-bees are very neatly made, and are also very carefully and uniquely decorated and decorated.Therefore, we can think that the work they are engaged in is quite artistic, and they themselves have superb artistic creativity.They are very good at using the right soil and constructing their nests so that no ordinary predator can easily invade them.It is for this reason that the larvae of this bee cannot make cocoons.They just lay "naked" in a small warm room enjoying themselves, which is as smooth as whitewash. However, it was different in the bamboo bee's small room.There are certain things that need to be protected.The reason is that the bamboo bee's nest is built on the surface of the soil, which is very sloppy and superficial, and only has a relatively thin wall as a defense.Therefore, unlike the larvae of the digger wasp, the larvae of the bamboo wasp are enclosed in a very strong and thick cocoon.In this way, there are two advantages.On the one hand, the thick cocoon protects the larva from unnecessary injury by colliding with the walls of a hastily constructed nest.On the other hand, it can also make the little larvae escape the claws and claws of the intruding enemy, so that they will not be accidentally killed when they are still in their infancy.

On such embankments two different species of bees live.We can easily tell which hive belongs to which bee.Obviously, in the nest of the digger bee, there are naked "naked" larvae hidden; while in the nest of the bamboo wasp, there are small larvae wrapped in a solid cocoon. At the same time, these two different types of bees each have their own special parasites, or uninvited guests.The parasite of the bamboo wasp is the kind of fly with black and white body.This fly can always be found at the door of the Hive Tunnel.They break into the nest and lay some eggs of their own.The parasite of the digger wasp is the wasp mite.We can often find many carcasses of this beetle on the embankment.

If I remove the bamboo wasp's cubbyhole, I can observe the home of the wasp.In some small rooms live insects in the process of growth.There are also some small rooms full of larvae of digger wasps.There are also some small rooms, most of which hide an egg-shaped shell.This shell is divided into several sections, and there are protruding breathing holes on it.This kind of shell is particularly thin, but also very brittle, very brittle.It is amber in color and very transparent.Therefore, from the outside, it can be clearly seen that there is a fully developed bee mite struggling inside, as if desperately longing for freedom, hoping to be liberated from it as soon as possible.

So, what is this strange shell?It doesn't look like the shell of a certain beetle.How did this parasite get into this hive? Judging from its geographical location, it is almost inviolable.Moreover, if you use a magnifying glass to observe carefully, you can't see any traces of injury.After three years of careful and meticulous observation, I finally found the answers to these questions.Thus, in the life history of insects I have recorded, I have added the strangest and most interesting page.The following are some results of my research. The bee-mite, even when fully developed, lives only a day or two, and spends its whole life at the door of the digger-bee.And this short life, except for the reproduction of offspring; the rest is nothing.

The bee mite also has all the digestive organs of other animals, but does it need to eat food?I doubt it.For the female beetle, her only desire is to give birth to her young.After this important event is completed, it will die and leave this world with peace of mind.So what about males?They will also die in Jiuquan after lying on this kind of soil hole for a day or two.This also provides us with an answer to the question, why there are so many inexplicable corpses hanging on the spider web next to the bee's house.Now their origin is known. At first glance one would think that the beetle, when it lays eggs, must run from room to room, laying an egg on every bee larva.However, this is not the case. In the process of my observation, I have searched carefully in the tunnel of bees, and finally found that bee mites only lay all their eggs inside the door of the hive, accumulating in a pile, a distance away from the door. About an inch or two away.The eggs are all white in color and egg-shaped in shape.They are all small in size and lightly adhere to each other.As for how many of them there are, let's calculate that there are more than 2,000 of them. I don't think this number can be regarded as an overestimation.

Contrary to what anyone must imagine about it, the fact is that they do not lay their eggs inside the comb, but only within the door of the bee dwelling, and in a little heap.Not only that, but their mothers don't reserve and arrange some protective things, don't consider protecting them from the cold of winter, and don't close the door of the entrance and exit for them, so as to resist those who come to invade, attack and hurt them. Thousands of enemies.In short, after their mother gave birth to them, they abandoned them and let them roam the world alone.The reason for this is that this open tunnel was trampled and occupied by spiders and other more ferocious invaders before the severe winter cold came, so the poor eggs were It became a delicious meal for the invaders. In order to be able to see more clearly and carefully, I put some eggs in a box.About September, before they hatch, I imagine that they will immediately run off and look for the cubbyhole of the wasp.However, the facts tell me that I was totally wrong.This group of young grubs—little black creatures, less than a twenty-fifth of an inch long—had powerful, muscular legs that they could not use.They don't run away and disperse, but live together in a very chaotic way, mixing with the egg shells that have come off.So I deliberately and quietly put a clod of earth with a beehive in front of them, to see what action they would take, but it didn't help, and I couldn't induce these small animals to move at all.If I take action to force some of them out of the way, they will immediately run back and continue to hide among the other companions and live together with them. Finally, during the winter, I went out into the wilds of Carbonatora, and went there to observe the colonies of the wasps.I would like to ascertain by this observation whether, in a state of nature, the larvae of the bee-mite are still like this, that after hatching, they do not live apart, but live in mixed groups.Is it the same?Yes, exactly the same.It's really exactly the same in the wild as it is in my little box.I have seen bee mite larvae in the wild also accumulating in piles and living with their egg shells. So far, I have not been able to answer the question: How did the bee mite get into the bee's small room?And how did they get into another shell that doesn't belong to them? 2. The first adventure After observing the appearance of young bee mites, I immediately felt that their living habits must be very special and interesting. After careful observation, I found that it is difficult to make the bee mite move slightly on a very ordinary surface.Where the larvae of the bee mite live, they obviously run a certain risk of falling.How can we prevent such a dangerous thing from happening?For bee mite larvae, this problem can be easily solved.Because they are born with a pair of very powerful big gills, curved and sharp; they also have strong legs and become movable claws; they also grow a lot of bristles and sharp needles; and, they Born with a pair of hard spikes, with sharp and very hard points, its shape and appearance are very similar to a plowshare, which can firmly penetrate into any smooth soil.And that's not all.In addition to the organs mentioned above, it can also spit out a very viscous juice, even if there is nothing else, this juice alone can stick it tightly so that it will not slip down of.It can be seen that its self-protection ability is very strong. I have racked my brains again and again, thinking hard about a question, what factors exist that make these young grubs decide to live here?However, I can't think of an answer.So, I can only wait very eagerly for the natural climate to warm up as soon as possible, so that I can find the answer quickly. Towards the end of April, the grubs, which I imprisoned in their cages, had previously been lying still, taking refuge in sleeping in sponge-like piles of eggshells.Now it was different, they suddenly became active.In the beginning, they were crawling around in the box they had spent the harsh winter.Their hurried movements, and their indefatigable energy, indicated that they seemed to be in search of something, something they desperately needed.It seems that these things are naturally their food.Because the larvae of these bee mites hatched at the end of September, until now, at the end of April.Although they are always in a state of insensitivity, for almost seven months, they have not received any nutritious things to strengthen their bodies.From the time of hatching, although these small animals are "spirits" with life, they are like being sentenced to seven months in prison. They can't do anything and can only maintain a certain posture. At the same time, when I saw them all so excited and full of passion, I naturally guessed that the reason that drives these small living animals to work so busy must be hunger, and only hunger can make them happy. They instinctively work hard. These little animals, in a hurry to find food, really need food from the storage of the hive.Is there any reason to say that?Because at a later stage, we found those bee mites in these hives.Now these reserves are not limited to bee larvae, but are also shared by bee mites. What I offer them is a hive with bee larvae in it.I even put bee mites directly into the hive.In short, I use various things and methods, hoping to arouse their appetite.But, as a matter of fact, my efforts were still fruitless.So, I deliberately used a method, using honey to test.I spent most of May in order to be able to find the hives where the honeydew was stored. Having found the hive I desired, I removed the bee larvae from it, and added the bee mite larvae to the honey stored in the hive.But the truth hit me again.Hardly any other experiment failed more severely than this one.The larvae didn't eat the honeydew at all, and what's worse, they were stuck in this sticky stuff, so that they were suffocated in it, which was beyond my expectation! So, I said with great disappointment: "I offer you ready-made hives, larvae, and honey, isn't that enough! Are you not satisfied? Well, what do you ugly little things need? What is it?" In the end, though, I found what they really needed.Turns out, they don't need anything special.They want the digger-bees to carry them into the hive themselves. I have already mentioned before, that when April comes, the mass of larvae which inhabit the door of the hive begins to show some signs of activity, and is ready to move.After only a few days, they were no longer in that place.It's a very weird little animal.They cling to the hairs of the bees firmly and relentlessly, so they are taken to the wild, even to distant places. When the digger bee passes by the door of the hive, no matter it is about to go out for a long trip, or just returned from a long journey, sleeping at the door, the larvae of bee mites that have been waiting for a long time will immediately climb onto the bees.They crawl into the wasp's down, and hold on so tightly that no matter how far the wasp may fly, they are not in the least afraid of falling to the ground.Because they hold on too tightly.The reason for adopting this method is that their only purpose is to use the strong body of the bees to bring them to the nests that are rich in honey. When one first observes this, one must have thought that the adventurous larva might be looking for some food in the bee.However, this is not the case. The larvae of the bee mite lie in the thin hairs of the bee, which are at right angles to the body of the bee.Its head is facing inward, but its tail is facing outward, staying close to the shoulder of the bee.After they have chosen a location, they no longer move around casually.If they really plan to eat something on the bees, then they should run around here and there, looking for which part is the freshest.However, this is not the case.They are always attached to the bee's body and are the hardest part, usually near the underside of the bee's wings, and sometimes attached to the bee's head.After they cling to a hair, they remain motionless.Therefore, in my opinion, facts are always facts, independent of human will.The reason why these little beetles are so attached to the body of the bee is that they are only intended to be carried by the bee to the hive that is about to be built. However, when flying, the future parasite must hold on to its owner's hair tightly.No matter how fast the bee is flying among flowers and leaves, or how much it rubs as it flies toward the nest, or even as it cleans its body with its feet, the little larva must catch Make sure it's tight enough to ensure safety. Not long ago, we wondered what it is that makes the larvae of the bee mite attach to the bee?Now we know the answer, and that is the fluff that grows on bees. Now, we can know the purpose of those two big nails growing on the bee mite.Closed together, they can hold the hairs of the bee tightly, much more precisely than the most precise hand-made pincers. At the same time, we can also know the value of those slimes.It helps the little creature to hold on to the bee more firmly.Moreover, we can also understand the function of the sharp needles and bristles on the larvae's feet.They are all used to insert into the soft hair of the bee, making its position more stable. The more we think about these "constituent devices" that seem useless when the larva crawls on a flat surface, the more we feel the amazement of these "machines".How wonderful that the feeble little creature, when he ventured about the world at his peril, was able to use so many devices to keep him from falling off the bee! 3. A SECOND ADVENTURE On the 21st of May, I went to Capentolas, in order to see the way in which the bee-mite enters the hive. This job is not easy to do, and it needs to be done with all your strength.On the vast ground in the wild, there is a group of bees dancing wildly there, as if stimulated by the sun.Just as I was observing their movements with dazzled eyes, suddenly there was a monotonous and terrible noise among the frantic swarm.Then, as fast as lightning, the digger wasp flies off and scours around for food.Meanwhile, another swarm of thousands of bees was flying home.They either carried with them the nectar they had already gathered, or the soil from which their hives were built. At that time, I already had some knowledge about these insects, and learned something about their habits.I think that no matter who breaks into their group intentionally or unintentionally, or just touches their house lightly, it will be stabbed by thousands of awls and die immediately.Once, I went to observe the bumblebee's hive, and because the distance was too close, I immediately trembled with fear. That feeling is really something I will never forget in my life! However difficult it may be, to know what I long to know, I must enter into this terrible swarm, and must stand there for hours, if necessary, a whole day. time.I had to watch their work, my eyes fixed, my magnifying glass in my hand, and stand motionless among them, watching what was going on in the hive.At the same time, masks, gloves, etc., and other coverings of all sorts, were out of use, because my fingers and eyes must be completely free from any hindrance.I don't care about the rest, even if I leave the hive almost unrecognizably stabbed in the face, and I can't bring all kinds of coverings. That day, I decided to solve the problem that has been bothering me for a long time. I managed to catch a few ground diggers with my net, and this actually gave me great satisfaction.Because the larvae of bee mites are inhabited on the bodies of these bees, which is just as I have always hoped. I fastened my clothes first, and then, I broke into the center of the group of bees.I took a hoe and hoeed a few times, and then removed a piece of mud.To my great surprise, I was not attacked or hurt at all. The second time I started it took a little longer than the first time, but still the same result.I was not hurt at all, nor did a bee sting me with its sharp needle.After that, I have nothing to worry about.So, I boldly stayed in front of the hive for a long time, lifted the soil, took out the honey inside, and drove the bees away.In the process, nothing more terrible than that uproar has ever been caused.why?This is mainly because the digger bee is a relatively peaceful animal.Whenever the interior of their nest is disturbed, they will immediately leave their old home, move their location, and hide in other places.Even if they are a little injured sometimes, they will not use their sharp needles, only when they are caught, they will use it. But I have to thank the mason bee for his lack of courage.Although I did not take any precautions, I was able to sit quietly on a rock among these noisy swarms, and watch their nests at will for hours. Has not been stabbed a needle.At this time, some country people passed by this place and saw me sitting quietly among the bees.So they asked me if I had cast some spell on them. That's it, I've observed a lot of bee hives.Some of the hives are still open, and some honey juice is more or less stored in them.There are also some hives that have been covered with soil.But what's inside is quite different.Sometimes I saw bee larvae; other times I saw slightly fatter larvae of other species; other times I saw an egg floating on the surface of the honeydew.This egg is of a very beautiful white colour, cylindrical, and slightly curved, and about two-fifths or one-sixth of an inch long. In a few small rooms I saw the eggs of this insect floating on the surface of the honey, in many other small rooms I saw more of the young bee mite grubs lying on the bees. Eggs, as if lying on a kind of raft.It is the same shape and size as it was when it first hatched, and in this hive the enemy is already lying at the door of the house. When and how did it get in?In many small rooms, after careful observation, I can hardly find a crack through which they can break into.As these little rooms were all tightly closed; I conjectured that the parasite must have entered the honey storehouse before the doors were closed.On the other hand, I have seen small rooms with open doors full of honey, but found no eggs floating there, and no bee-mite larvae ever lodged in them.So, the larvae must have entered when the bees were laying their eggs, or later when the bees closed the door.I judge from my little experience that the larva enters the cell at the moment when the bee lays its eggs on the honey. Suppose I take a small chamber full of honey, with an egg floating on the surface; then I take some larvae of the bee mite, and put them together in a glass case for observation.However, they seldom run into the hive, nor can they safely run to the "raft"!The honey around this "raft" seems too dangerous for them.Even if one or two larvae happen to come near this honey lake, they will immediately try to escape from this dangerous place by all means as soon as they see the sticky substance or set foot in it.However, there are often some unlucky larvae who accidentally fall into the hive of the bee and are unlucky to be suffocated.Therefore, based on this, we can conclude that the larvae of bee mites will never leave the hair of the bee, especially when the bee stays in or near a small room, it must be firmly attached to the body of the bee .This is because just the slightest contact with the surface of the honey can suffocate the delicate larvae. We must bear in mind that young bee mites are found in closed rooms, and they must be on bee eggs.Not only does the tiny egg serve as a safe raft for the tiny creature to float in this dreadful, untrustworthy lake of honey, but the tiny egg becomes the larva's first larvae. A delicious meal. However, to reach the raft that floats in the center of the honey lake and will become its food, the young grubs of the bee mite must avoid contact with the honey.Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable.If you want to achieve your goal and accomplish this thing, there is only one method you can choose.The clever little larva, taking advantage of the time when the bee was still laying the egg, slid from its body and onto the egg in one swift swoop.In this way, the purpose is achieved.The larvae and the eggs together float on the honey.Because the egg laid by the bee is too small to carry more than one larva at a time.Therefore, we can only see the larva of one bee mite in a hive. This action of bee mite larvae seems to us to be extremely spiritual.But if we continue to study insects, they will provide us with many more such inspiring examples. It can be said that when the bees lay eggs and put the eggs on the honey juice, they also put the larvae of their small natural enemies, the bee mite, into the small room together. The door of the room was sealed.So everything that needs it to do is done.Then, the second small room is made next to the first small room.Probably have to go through the same process as before.And so on and on and on.It does not end until the parasites hidden in the bee's down have all settled down. Let us now turn aside from this actually somewhat distressed mother, whatever fruitless work she may be doing, and turn our attention for a moment to the larvae of these bee mites which by clever means end up getting board , to see how it responds to our experiment. Let us think about it, what would happen if we once removed the cover of a small room with bee-mite larvae? The egg was still perfectly intact and not damaged at all.However, the good times didn't last long.Before long, the destructive work of bee mite larvae begins.We can observe the larva running towards a white egg with small black spots.Finally, it stopped suddenly, because it has six legs, so the body can stop very steadily.Then, it bit the thin skin of the egg with the sharp hooks of its big gills, and pulled it violently with all its strength until the egg was torn apart by it.As a result, the contents of the egg flowed out.The victorious larva, so satisfied with the sight of it, devoured it at once with pleasure.The tiny parasite used the sharp hooks of its thighs for the first time in its life, when it turned out to be tearing open the wasp eggs. Bee mite larvae are really smart!Come up with such a wonderful method.By this ingenious device the larva can do as it pleases in the small chamber of the hive where it parasitizes, without regard for itself.It can enjoy honeydew freely.This is because, during the hatching process, the bee larvae also need honey juice to increase nutrition. However, during the hatching, the little things absorbed by the bee eggs cannot be provided for the two to enjoy together in the future.Therefore, as long as the larvae of the bee mite are pulling the egg skin, the faster and harder the better.In this way, the difficulty of "more monks and less food" will not exist. There is another important reason why bee mite larvae destroy bee eggs.That's because bee eggs have a special taste.This taste is so attractive to bee mite larvae that it drives the larva to eat the sweet and delicious egg as its first meal.This little larva, in the early stage of tearing the egg, feeds on the attractive juice that flows out of the egg.After several days in succession, the larva continued to work hard, tearing the opening of the egg wider so that the larva could make an inch of it.It will continue to enjoy the liquid inside the egg until it is satisfied. While the larvae are sucking the bee eggs, the sweet honey juice stored around the bee eggs can't tempt the greedy bee mite larvae at all. It ignores them and doesn't touch them.Therefore, it can be said that the eggs of bees are absolutely important for bee mite larvae, and it is an essential food for the larvae.Therefore, the small bee egg can not only be used as a small boat for the bee mite larvae, so that it can travel safely in the honey lake, but more importantly, it is also a very nutritious food for the larvae, providing a source of nutrients for the larvae to thrive. condition. At the end of a full week, there was nothing left of the poor little wasp's egg but a dry, empty husk.A life ended quietly like this.By this time, the first big meal of bee mite larvae has also been enjoyed.The larvae also thrived and almost doubled in size.Its shape has also undergone some minor changes.它的背部裂开了，形成了自己的第二种形状，长成了一只简单的甲虫。小幼虫从那个裂缝中解脱出来，然后落到蜂蜜上。从它身上脱下来的那个壳，还依然停留在原来的那个小“木筏”上面。但是，在不久以后，它们都被掩没在蜜浪之中了。 此时此刻，蜂螨幼虫的历史便画上了一个圆满的句号！