CHAPTER XIII 



THE METHOD OF THE CALICURGI 



* I ^HE non-armoured victims, vulnerable 

 -*■ by the sting over almost their whole 

 body, ordinary caterpillars and Looper 

 caterpillars, Cetonia- and Anoxia-larvae, 

 whose only means of defence, apart from 

 their mandibles, consists of rollings and con- 

 tortions, called for the testimony of an- 

 other victim, the Spider, almost as ill-pro- 

 tected, but armed with formidable poison- 

 fangs. How, in particular, will the Ringed 

 Calicurgus set to work in operating on the 

 Black-bellied Tarantula, the terrible Lycosa, 

 who with a single bite kills the Mole or the 

 Sparrow and endangers the life of man? 

 How does the bold Pompilus overcome an 

 adversary more powerful than herself, bet- 

 ter-equipped with virulent poison and capa- 

 ble of making a meal of her assailant? Of 

 all the Hunting Wasps, none risks such un- 

 equal conflicts, in which appearances would 

 proclaim the aggressor to be the victim and 

 the victim the aggressor. 

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