CHAPTER XIII 



A BE E- HUNTER : THE PHILANTHUS AVIPORUS 



To encounter among the Hymenoptera, those ardent 

 lovers of flowers, a species which goes a-hunting on 

 its own account is, to say the least of it, astonishing. 

 That the larder of the larvae should be provisioned with 

 captured prey is natural enough ; but that the provider, 

 whose diet is honey, should itself devour its captives 

 is a fact both unexpected and difficult to comprehend. 

 We are surprised that a drinker of nectar should become 

 a drinker of blood. But our surprise abates if we con- 

 sider the matter closely. The double diet is more 

 apparent than real ; the stomach w^hich fills itself with 

 the nectar of flowers does not gorge itself with flesh. 

 When she perforates the rump of her victim the Odynerus 

 does not touch the flesh, which is a diet absolutely con- 

 trary to her tastes ; she confines herself to drinking the 

 defensive liquid which the grub distils at the end of its 

 intestine. For her this liquid is doubtless a beverage of 

 delicious flavour, with which she relieves from time to 

 time her staple diet of the honey distilled by flowers, 

 some highly spiced condiment, appetiser or aperient, or 

 perhaps — who knows ? — a substitute for honey. Al- 

 though the qualities of the liquid escape me, I see at 



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