The Method of the Scoliae 



has not a shadow of consciousness of the 

 task accompHshed. 



A second detail strikes me: the desperate 

 persistence of the Scoha. I have seen the 

 struggle continue for more than a quarter 

 of an hour, with frequent alternations of 

 good luck and bad, before the Wasp achieved 

 the required position and reached with the 

 end of her abdomen the spot where the sting 

 should penetrate. During these assaults, 

 which were resumed as soon as they were 

 repulsed, the aggressor repeatedly applied 

 the tip of her belly to the larva, but without 

 unsheathing, as I could see by the absence 

 of the start which the larva gives when it 

 feels the pain of the sting. The Scolia 

 therefore does not prick the Cetonia any- 

 where until the weapon covers the requisite 

 spot. If no wounds are inflicted elsewhere, 

 this is not in any way due to the structure 

 of the larva, which is soft and vulnerable 

 all over, except in the head. The point 

 sought by the sting is no more unprotected 

 than any other part of the skin. 



In the scuffle, the Scolia, curved into a bow, 

 is sometimes seized by the vice-like grip of 

 the Cetonia-grub, which is violently coiling 

 and uncoihng. Heedless of the powerful 

 grip, the Wasp does not let go for a moment, 

 315 



