CHAPTER I 



THE POMPILI ^ 



THE Ammophila's ^ caterpillar, the Bem- 

 bex' ^ Gad-fly, the Cerceris' * Buprestis'* 

 and Weevil, the Sphex' ^ Locust, Cricket 

 and Ephippiger "^ : all these inoffensive peace- 

 able victims are like the silly Sheep of 

 our slaughter-houses; they allow themselves 

 to be operated upon by the paralyser, submit- 

 ting stupidly, without offering much resist- 

 ance. The mandibles gape, the legs kick 

 and protest, the body wriggles and twists; 

 and that is all. They have no weapons capa- 

 ble of contending with the assassin's dagger. 



iThis essay should be read in conjunction with that on 

 the Black-bellied Tarantula. Cf. The Life of the Spider, 

 by J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de 

 Mattos: chap. i. — Translator's Note. 



2 Cf. The Hunting Wasps, by J. Henri Fabre, translated 

 by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chaps, xiii. and xviii. to 

 XX. ; and Chapter XI. of the present volume. — Translator's 

 Note. 



8 Cf . idem: chap. xlv. — Translator's Note. 



■* Cf . idem: chaps, i. to iii. — Translator's Note. 



5 A Beetle usually remarkable for her brilliant colouring. 

 Cf. idem: chap. i. — Translator's Note. 



« Cf . idem: chaps, iv. to x. — Translator's Note. 



'' Cf. The Life of the Grasshopper, by J. Henri Fabre, 

 translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chaps, xiii. 

 and xiv. — Translator's Note. 

 I 



