I see them attack the earth with the curved talons of their fore-limbs, digging their claws into it and making such an excavation as the point of a thick needle would enter.
With a magnifying-glass I watch their picks at work.

I see their talons raking atom after atom of earth to the surface.

In a few minutes there is a little gaping well.

The larva climbs downwards and buries itself, henceforth invisible.
On the morrow I turn out the contents of the vase without breaking the mould, which is held together by the roots of the thyme and the wheat.

I find all my larvae at the bottom, arrested by the glass.