The Ammophilae 



selected is big, plump, capable of amply 

 satisfying the grub's appetite. For instance, 

 I have taken from the mandibles of the 

 Sandy Ammophila a caterpillar weighing 

 fifteen times as much as its captor: fifteen 

 times, an enormous figure when we consider 

 the strength which the huntress must ex- 

 pend in dragging game of this kind by the 

 skin of the neck over the countless obstacles 

 on the road. No other Wasp, tried in the 

 balance with her prey, has shown me a like 

 disproportion between spoiler and booty. 



The almost indefinite variety of colour- 

 ing in the provisions which I unearth from 

 the burrows or see between the legs of the 

 Ammophilae also proves that the three bri- 

 gands have no preference and pounce upon 

 the first caterpillar which comes along, pro- 

 vided that it be of a suitable size, neither too 

 large nor too small, and that it belongs to the 

 Moth division. The commonest game con- 

 sists of those grey-clad caterpillars which 

 penetrate a little way into the ground and 

 devour the plant at the junction of root and 

 stem. 



What governs the whole history of the 

 Ammophilae and more particularly attracted 

 my attention is the manner in which the in- 

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