More Hunting Wasps 



honey, the predatory Wasps do not hunt on 

 their own account; they have their victual- 

 ling-time, when the egg-laying is imminent, 

 when the family calls for food. Outside 

 these periods, the finest heads of game might 

 well leave these nectar-bibbers indifferent. 

 I am careful therefore, as far as possible, 

 to capture my subjects at the proper season; 

 I give preference to mothers caught upon 

 the threshold of the burrow with their prey 

 between their legs. This diligence of mine 

 by no means always succeeds. There are 

 demoralized insects which, once under glass, 

 even after a brief delay, no longer care 

 about the equivalent of their prize. 



All the species do not perhaps pursue their 

 game with the same ardour; mood and tem- 

 perament are more variable even than con- 

 formation. To these factors, which are of 

 the nicest order, we may add that of the 

 hour, which is often unfavourable when the 

 subject is caught at haphazard on the flow- 

 ers, and we shall have more than enough to 

 explain the frequency of the failures. After 

 all, I must beware of representing my fail- 

 ures as the rule : what does not succeed one 

 day may very well succeed another day, un- 

 der different conditions. With perseverance 

 and a little skill, any one who cares to con- 



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