V 



ONE SKILFUL TO SLAY 



The Hymenopteron has partly revealed her secret 

 by showing us where the sting strikes. But does 

 that explain the question ? Not yet, by any means. 

 Let us retrace our steps, forget for a moment what 

 the insect has taught us, and consider the problem 

 set before the Cerceris. The problem is this : to lay 

 up in an underground cell a certain number of heads of 

 game which may suffice to nourish the larva hatched 

 from the egg laid upon the heap of provender. 



At first sight this storing of food appears simple 

 enough, but reflexion soon discovers graver diffi- 

 culties. Our own game is brought down by a shot 

 and killed with horrible wounds. The Hymenopteron 

 has refinements unknown to us ; she chooses to 

 have her prey intact, with all its elegance of form 

 and colour. No broken limbs, no gaping wounds, 

 no hideous disembowelment. Her prey has all the 

 freshness of the living insect ; she does not destroy 

 an atom of the fine-coloured powder which the mere 

 contact of our fingers deflowers. If the insect were 

 really dead, really a corpse, how difficult it would be 

 for us to obtain such a result ! Any one can slay 



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