152 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



the methods by which the various predatory species dealt 

 with their victims. In the case of Philanthus I made use 

 of the improvised cage already described ; and Philan- 

 thus it was who furnished me with my first data on the 

 subject. She responded to my hopes with such energy 

 that I thought myself in possession of an unequalled 

 method of observation, by means of which I could 

 witness again and again, to satiety even, incidents of a 

 kind so difficult to surprise in a state of nature. Alas ! 

 the early days of my acquaintance with Philanthus 

 promised me more than the future had in store for me ! 

 Not to anticipate, however, let us place under the bell- 

 glass the hunter and the game. I recommend the experi- 

 ment to whomsoever would witness the perfection with 

 which the predatory Hymenoptera use their stings. The 

 result is not in doubt and the waiting is short ; the 

 moment the prey is perceived in an attitude favourable to 

 her designs, the bandit rushes at it, and all is over. In 

 detail, the tragedy develops as follows : 



I place under a bell-glass a Philanthus and two or 

 three domestic bees. The prisoners climb the glass walls, 

 on the more strongly lighted side ; they ascend, descend, 

 and seek to escape ; the polished, vertical surface is for 

 them quite easy to walk upon. They presently quiet 

 down, and the brigand begins to notice her surroundings. 

 The antennas point forward, seeking information ; the 

 hinder legs are drawn up with a slight trembling, as of 

 greed and rapacity, in the thighs ; the head turns to the 

 right and the left, and follows the evolutions of the bees 

 against the glass. The posture of the scoundrelly insect 

 is strikingly expressive ; one reads in it the brutal desires 

 of a creature in ambush, the cunning patience that post- 



