The Hunting Wasps 



or more, according to the structure of the par- 

 ticular nervous system and to the number and 

 grouping of the gangha. The course of the 

 sting is determined by the exact anatomy of 

 the victim. 



The particular prey of the Hairy Ammo- 

 phila is a caterpillar, each of whose nerve- 

 centres, which are distant one from the other 

 and to a certain extent independent in their 

 action, occupies a different segment of the 

 insect. This caterpillar, who is a very lively 

 customer, cannot be stored in the cell, with 

 the Wasp's egg upon his flank, until he has 

 lost all his power of motion. One move- 

 ment of his body would crush that egg 

 against the wall of the cell. 



Now the paralysis of one segment would 

 not mean that the next was also rendered in- 

 capable of movement, because of the com- 

 parative independence of the seats of innerva- 

 tion. It is necessary, therefore, that all the 

 segments, or at least the most important, be 

 operated on, one after the other, from the 

 first to the last. The course which the Am- 

 mophila adopts is that which the most ex- 

 perienced of physiologists would recom- 

 mend: her sting is transferred from one seg- 

 ment to the next, nine separate times over. 

 386 



