The History of the Greeks and Romans

Men state that in Pontus some birds during the winter are found lurking in holes and not discharging excrement. The bee is thought to announce the solstices by going to its leavers which the beekeepers also use as a sign, for then they have rest. When people pluck out their feathers they do not feel it, nor yet when they are pierced on a spent, but only when they have been burnt through with fire. It is said that the spotted lizard, when it has stripped off its slough, like snakes, turns round and swallows it.