Habits of the Common JVasp. 229 



ciently the wasp rolled up the body between its second and third 

 pairs of legs, and poising itself upon its wings, flew away towards 

 its nest. During the same morning I had several opportunities of 

 watching the proceedings of the wasps, and found that their mode 

 of capturing and subsequent treatment of the prey were always the 

 same. They cut off the wings, legs, and head immediately they 

 had struck their victims to the ground, and then carried off the body 

 to a neighbouring tree or resting place to mangle it still further, 

 before they took their final dejjarture for the nest. This proceeding 

 generally takes place in the middle of the day, while the sun is 

 shining brightly, and the butterflies are intoxicating themselves 

 with the sweets of the thistle-heads. It is then that the wasp is 

 most active, flying round with great swiftness from thistle to thistle, 

 and pouncing down upon the luckless butterflies like a falcon on his 

 prey. The butterflies, which appear to be aware of the common 

 enemy, sometimes avoid it by dropping aside or taking flight at 

 the very instant of its attack. The wasp attacks Dipterous insects 

 in a similar manner, by jjouncing upon them, but I have not observed 

 it strike them to the ground as in the case of the butterflies. I 

 saw a wasp capture a species of Eristalis ; it cut off the head, limbs 

 and wings, as of the butterfly, but devoured the abdomen on the 

 spot, and then flew away with the trunk. Its chief prey among 

 Lepidopterous insects is P. rapes, although it attacks all the other 

 species of white butterflies. I saw it attempt to capture the fine 

 species Vanessa Atalanta, but the insect was too nimble for it. If it 

 misses its object it does not make a second attack, but flies on to the 

 next thistle. 



From these facts I am induced to believe that Dr. Darwin's opinion 

 respecting the existence of a reasoning power in insects, as deduced 

 from the fact he observed, was too hastily formed, and that, instead 

 of its proving this, it shows us that insects have an unerring instinct, 

 very similar to, but perfectly distinct from reason, and that this in- 

 stinct prompts them always to act in the same manner. 



VOL. I. PART in. 



