More Hunting Wasps 



lanthi and the Palari capture only Hymen- 

 optera; the Pompili specialize in hunting 

 the Spider; the Astata revels in the flavour 

 of Bugs; the Bembeces want Flies and no- 

 thing else; the Scoliae enjoy the monopoly of 

 the Lamellicorn-grubs ; the Pelopaei favour 

 the young Epeirae/ the Stizi vary in opin- 

 ion: of the two in my neighbourhood, one, 

 S. ruficornus, fiills her larder with Mantes 

 and the other, S. tridentatus, fills it with Ci- 

 cadellae; ^ lastly, the Crabronidae ^ levy trib- 

 ute upon the rabble of the Muscidae.^ 



Already you see what a magnificent classi- 

 fication of these game-hunters might be made 

 with a faithfully listed bill of fare. Na- 

 tural groups stand out, characterized merely 

 by the identity of their victuals. I trust 

 that the methodical science of the future will 

 take account of these gastronomic laws, to 

 the great relief of the entomological novice, 

 who is too often hampered by the snares of 

 the mouth-parts, the antennae and the nerv- 

 ures of the wings. I call for a classification 

 in which the insect's aptitudes, its diet, its 



1 Or Garden Spiders. Cf. The Life of the Spider: 

 chaps, ix. to xiv. and appendix. — Translator's Note. 



2 Cf. The Life of the Grasshopper: chap. xx. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



* Any Flies akin to the House-fly. — Translator's Note. 



* Hornets. — Translator's Note. 



170 



