More Hunting Wasps 



soon as they appear. The bandit greedily, 

 over and over again, takes the dead insect's 

 lolling, sugared tongue into her mouth; then 

 she once more digs into the neck and thorax, 

 subjecting the honey-bag to the renewed 

 pressure of her abdomen. The' syrup comes 

 and is instantly lapped up and lapped up 

 again. In this way the contents of the crop 

 are exhausted in small mouthfuls, yielded 

 one at a time. This odious meal at the ex- 

 pense of a corpse's stomach is taken in a 

 sybaritic attitude; the Philanthus lies on her 

 side with the Bee between her legs. The 

 atrocious banquet sometimes lasts for half 

 an hour or longer. At last the drained Bee 

 is discarded, not without regret, it seems, 

 for from time to time I see the manipulation 

 renewed. After taking a turn round the 

 top of the bell-jar, the robber of the dead 

 returns to her prey and squeezes it, licking 

 its mouth until the last trace of honey has 

 disappeared. 



This frenzied passion of the Philanthus 

 for the Bee's syrup is declared in yet an- 

 other fashion. When the first victim has 

 been sucked dry, I slip under the glass a 

 second victim, which is promptly stabbed 

 under the chin and then subjected to press- 

 ure to extract the honey. A third follows 

 258 



