The Cetonia-larva 



ing of the victim: all these things tell me 

 that the Cetonia-grub, as regards its nervous 

 system, must possess a structure peculiar to 

 itself. The whole of the ganglia must be 

 concentrated in a limited area in the first 

 segments, almost under the neck. I see this 

 as clearly as though it had been revealed to 

 me by a post-mortem dissection. 



Never was anatomical forecast more fully 

 confirmed by direct examination. After 

 forty-eight hours in benzine, which dissolves 

 the fat and renders the nervous system more 

 plainly visible, the Cetonia-grub is subjected 

 to dissection. Those of my readers who are 

 familiar with these investigations will un- 

 derstand my delight. What a clever school 

 is the Scolia's ! It is just as I thought ! Ad- 

 mirable! The thoracic and abdominal gan- 

 glia are gathered into a single nervous mass, 

 situated within the quadrilateral bounded by 

 the four hinder legs, which legs are very near 

 the head. It is a tiny, dull-white cylinder, 

 about three millimetres long by half a milli- 

 metre wide.^ This is the organ which the 

 Scolia's sting must attack in order to secure 

 the paralysis of the whole body, excepting 

 the head, which is provided with special 

 ganglia. From it run numbers of filaments 



^.117 X .019 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 95 



