154 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



the point attained by the sting, and to inform myself 

 completely concerning this horrible talent for murder, I 

 have provoked I dare not confess how many assassina- 

 tions in captivity. Without a single exception, the bee 

 has always been stung in the throat. In the preparations 

 for the final blow the extremity of the abdomen may 

 of course touch here and there, at different points of the 

 thorax or abdomen, but it never remains there, nor is the 

 the sting unsheathed, as may easily be seen. Once the 

 struggle has commenced the Philanthus is so absorbed in 

 her operations that I can remove the glass cover and 

 follow every detail of the drama with my magnifying- 

 glass. 



The invariable situation of the wound being proved, I 

 bend back the head of the bee, so as to open the articula- 

 tion. I see under what we may call the chin of the bee 

 a white spot, hardly a twenty-fifth of an inch square, 

 where the horny integuments are lacking, and the fine 

 skin is exposed uncovered. It is there, always there, in 

 that tiny defect in the bee's armour, that the sting is 

 inserted. Why is this point attacked rather than another ? 

 Is it the only point that is vulnerable ? Stretch open the 

 articulation of the corselet to the rear of the first pair of 

 legs. There you will see an area of defenceless skin, fully 

 as delicate as that of the throat, but much more exten- 

 sive. The horny armour of the bee has no larger breach. 

 If the Philanthus were guided solely by considerations of 

 vulnerability she would certainly strike there, instead of 

 insistently seeking the narrow breach in the throat. The 

 sting would not grope or hesitate, it would find its mark 

 at the first attempt. No ; the poisoned thrust is not con- 

 ditioned by mechanical considerations ; the murderer 



