Change of Diet 



fatal. If bitten before the proper time at 

 such a point, the victim becomes putrid, 

 which promptly causes death by poisoning in 

 the consumer. When diverted from its plan 

 of attack, deprived of its clue, the larva is 

 not always able to rediscover the lawful 

 morsels in good time and is killed by the 

 decomposition of its badly dissected prey. 

 What will happen if the experimenter gives 

 it a game to which it is not accustomed? 

 Not knowing how to eat it according to rule, 

 the larva will kill it; and by next day the 

 victuals will have become so much toxic 

 putrescence. I have already told how I 

 found it impossible to rear the Two-banded 

 Scolia on Oryctes-larvae, fastened down to 

 deprive them of movement, or even on 

 Ephippigers, paralyzed by the Languedocian 

 Sphex. In both cases the new diet was ac- 

 cepted without hesitation, a proof that it 

 suited the nursehng; but in a day or two 

 putrescence supervened and the Scolia per- 

 ished on the fetid morsel. The method of 

 preserving the Ephippiger, so well known to 

 the Sphex, was unknown to my boarder; 

 and this was enough to convert a delicious 

 food into poison. 



Even so did my other attempts miscarry 

 wretchedly, attempts at feeding with the sin- 

 199 



