Note 5 — Chapter XI · THE COMMON WASP (continued)

In the charnel-houses of Moles and Snakes in my aerial retting-vats,5 I used to note, from time to time, the arrival of the largest of our Staphylini,6 S. maxillosus, who, in passing, would make a brief stay under the putrid mass and then proceed to pursue her business elsewhere. The Wasps’ charnel-house similarly has short-winged Beetles among its habitual visitors. I often come upon Quedius fulgidas, Fab., there, the one with the red wing-cases. But this time it is not a temporary hostelry; it is a family establishment, for the adult Staphylinus is accompanied by her larva. I also find Wood-lice and Millipedes, of the genus Polydesma, both inferior trenchermen, feeding probably on the humours oozing from the dead.