174 SPECIES NOT 



in the body of the caterpillar, now feeds upon 

 its juices, and the latter lives long enough to 

 give nourishment to its murderer, until it is full 

 grown. It then dies, and the parasite becomes 

 a pupa, from which the perfect- winged Sphex 

 emerges the following spring. 



Now the whole of these facts, noticed by a good 

 and practised observer like Dr. Maclean, may be 

 fully relied upon. Mr. Darwin would say this is 

 not an instance of created instinct, but a conse- 

 quence of a general law leading to the advancement 

 of all organic beings, which law he exemplifies in 

 the words, "Multiply, vary, let the strongest live, 

 and the weakest perish." 



But I ask, why does the Sphex dig a hole? 

 AVhy is it endowed with the power of paralyzing 

 the caterpillar? Why does it drag it to the hole, 

 and then deposit within it its larva? Surely if 

 these operations are not instinctive, there is no 

 meaning in the word. Every step in the process 

 is done with methodical precision, and with an 

 evident foresight which can result from nothing 

 but a faculty given to the insect by its Maker, 

 for the purpose of perpetuating its species, and 

 destroying a creature which was feeding upon 

 vegetable productions necessary for the use of 

 man, or some other animal. The Sphex never 

 sees its progeny; it cannot, therefore, be the 

 result of a habit inherited, for this would im- 

 ply a knowledge, which it is clear the insect 

 never had, and never could have. It can only 

 be explained as an act of creative design. 



