More Hunting Wasps 



would be absurd to give such an idea a mo- 

 ment's consideration. Its refusal is dictated 

 by a preordained decree which it is bound 

 to obey. 



My Scolia-grubs would die of starvation if 

 I left them on their victim's back. I there- 

 fore restore matters as they were, with the 

 Cetonia-larva belly uppermost and the young 

 Scolia on top. I might utilize the subjects 

 of my previous experiments; but, as I have 

 to take precautions against the disturbance 

 which may have been caused by the test al- 

 ready undergone, I prefer to operate on 

 new patients, a luxury in which the richness 

 of my menagerie allows me to indulge. I 

 move the Scolia from its position, extract 

 its head from the entrails of the Cetonia- 

 larva and leave it to its own resources on its 

 victim's belly. Betraying every symptom of 

 uneasiness, the grub gropes, hesitates, casts 

 about and does not insert its mandibles any- 

 where, though it is now the ventral surface 

 which it is exploring. It would not display 

 greater hesitation if placed on the back of 

 the larva. I repeat, who knows? On this 

 side it might perhaps injure the nervous 

 plexus, which is even more essential than the 

 dorsal vessel. The inexperienced grub must 

 not drive in its mandibles at random; its fu- 

 66 



