Homes Without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction

The larva is of a beautiful red, and is hatched from an egg placed in the cell occupied by the bee-grub. As soon as it is hatched, it proceeds to feed upon the bee-grub, and devours it. Unlike many insects with similar habits, it is not content with a single grub, but proceeds from cell to cell, devouring all their inhabitants. When it has eaten to the full, it conceals itself in the cell, and spins a cocoon of rather small dimensions in comparison with its own size. In process of time it is developed into a perfect insect, and then breaks out of its cocoon and leaves the hive, 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 Loir 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.

DORMOUSE AND NEST.

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But, as soon as the creature resumes its ordinary life, waste goes on, and the creature soon feels the pangs of hunger. As the food of the Dormouse consists chiefly of seeds and fruits, it could not find enough nourishment to support the body, and would therefore perish of hunger but for the stores which instinct had taught it to gather in the preceding autumn.

In the illustration, the stag-beetle and the golden-crested wren have been introduced to show the comparative size of the animals. The old Dormouse does not fear the beetle, and tranquilly pursues his meal, but the young one is rather discomposed at the intrusion of the big black insect, and meditates a retreat into the nest.

There are several species of Dormouse, which have similar habits, and at least two of them are found in Europe. These are the LOIR (Myoxus glis) and the LEROT (Myoxus quercinus). The former of these animals is sometimes called the Fat Dormouse, because it was in ancient days considered as a great delicacy, and carefully fattened in places called gliraria. This animal is found in France.

In many parts of the same country the Lerot is a great pest to the gardens, because it is fond of fruit, and has a special liking for the ripest peaches, nectarines, and similar choice fruit.

BESIDES those which have been mentioned, several other species of mammalia make aerial nests in the branches of trees, though such nests are only to be considered as exceptions from the general rule. Perhaps the most singular of these exceptions is that which has been discovered in Africa, where human beings systematically build their houses in trees. This curious fact was discovered by Mr. Moffatt, the well-known missionary, in the course of his travels.

Two traders had been in the country which was ruled by the ferocious chief Moselekatze, who has derived an unenviable name for his relentless cruelty, which will always eclipse his well-deserved reputation as a man of commanding genius and of subtle intellect. He was, in fact, a savage Napoleon, and, if possible, even a more wonderful man, inasmuch as he had no education, and created the terrible power which he so skillfully wielded.

King of the Zulu Kafirs, he had organized a vast military establishment, and had invented a system of warfare so ingenious as to entitle him to the name of a born general. All able-bodied men were forced to serve as soldiers, drafted into different regiments according to their capacities of strength, swiftness, or cunning, and when they went into action had the alternative of victory or death, a fugitive being inevitably killed by the executioner.

When his white visitors were about to return to their homes, Moselekatze thought that it would be a good opportunity of extending his knowledge, and consequently his influence, by learning the manners and customs of white men, and therefore sent two of his councillors to accompany the visitors to their homes, to inspect their proceedings, and then to return and report what they had seen. The envoys carried out the instructions of their master, though their brains could scarcely retain the vast stores of new facts which were continually poured into them, and in due time they wished to return to their own country.

Here, however, was a difficulty. In order to reach Zulu-land, they must pass through tracts inhabited by other nations, all of which had been invaded and harried by the conquering troops of Moselekatze, and they knew full well that if their identity were recognized they would be murdered in retaliation by the incensed owners of the land.

In this strait, Mr. Moffatt offered to accompany them until they had reached the boundaries of their land, and set off with them. When he had fulfilled his promise he was about to return, but his guests begged so earnestly that he should go on and visit their king, that he yielded to their request. Contrary to the usual habits of the Kafir, Moselekatze was grateful to Mr. Moffatt, saying that “the kindness which had been done to his servants had been done to him, Moselekatze, the son of Machobane.”

On this journey Mr. Moffatt’s attention was taken by a magnificent tree, under whose shadow were a number of human beings moving about. On approaching nearer, he found that the tree was close to water, and on looking upward he saw that a number of little huts were among the branches. Seventeen of these huts were completed, and three more were in course of erection. These were the dwellings of the natives who had been seen under the tree, and were constructed in a very ingenious manner.