40 THE SOLITARY WASPS. 



reach precisely to tlie opening, and there it is left while the wasp 

 descends hun-iedlj into the depths of the burrow. In a few 

 seconds she reappears, showing her head outside, seizes the an- 

 tennae of the cricket and drags it below. These manoeuvres 

 are repeated with a striking degree of invariability. One ex- 

 periment of M. Tab re was as follows: As the Sphex descended 

 into the nest he took the cricket from the entrance and moved 

 it a few inches away. The wasp coming up, looked about with 

 astonishment, and seeing its victim too far away, came out, 

 seized it, and placed it again in the desired position. This done 

 it again descended, but alone. The same manoeuvre was re- 

 peated by M. Fabre, the same disappointment was exhibited by 

 the wasp on her return. The prey was again brought to the en- 

 trance of the burrow but she again went down without it. The 

 experiment was repeated again and again until the patience of 

 the observer was exhausted. He made the test about forty 

 times on the same individual but the tactics of the wasp never 

 varied. 



The other Sphex (c:Jled by Fabre Sphcx languedocien,) 

 first secures her prey, which is too large and heavy to be 

 carried far, and then digs her nest in the neighborhood of 

 the capture. This being done she returns to her victim 

 and straddling it, drage it by one or both of the antennse. 

 Sometimes the whole journey is accomplished at once, but 

 oftener the wasp suddenly drops her burden and runs rapid- 

 ly to her nest. Perhaps it seems to her that the entrance is not 

 large enough to accommodate a creature of such size; perhaps 

 she imagines some imperfections of detail which would impede 

 the process of storing it up. The work is retouched, the door- 

 way enlarged, the threshold smoothed. Then she returns to her 

 booty and again starts with it. After a few steps the Sphex 

 seems to be seized with another idea. She has visited the door- 

 way but has not seen the interior. Who knows whether all is 

 well within? She drops her prey and again runs off. The 

 visit to the interior is made, more touches given, and once more 



