CHAPTER II 



THE GREAT CERCERIS 



WITH my memory full of the prowess of 

 the Buprestls-huntress, I watched for 

 an opportunity to observe in my turn the la- 

 bours of the Cerceres; and I watched to such 

 good purpose that I ended by being success- 

 ful. True, the Wasp was not the one cele- 

 brated by Leon Dufour, with her sumptuous 

 victuals whose remains, when unearthed, sug- 

 gest the dust of some nugget broken by the 

 gold-miner's pick: it was a kindred species, 

 a gigantic brigand who contents herself with 

 humbler prey; in short, it was Cerccris tnher- 

 culata or C. major, the largest and most pow- 

 erful of the genus. 



The last fortnight in September is the time 

 when our Burrowing Wasp digs her lairs and 

 buries in their depths the victim destined for 

 her grubs. The site of the home, always 

 selected with discrimination, is subject to 

 those mysterious laws which differ in different 

 species but are invariable throughout any one 

 species. Leon Dufour's Cerceris requires a 

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