lOO INSECT LIFE 



VII 



the Pompili, and even their sting is far less severe 

 than that of a bee. 



One last remark. We know how furiously 

 Hymenoptera armed with a sting used only for 

 defence rush at the bold man who disturbs their nest, 

 and punish his temerity. Those on the contrary 

 whose sting is used only for hunting are very pacific, 

 as if they guessed how important for their family is 

 the little poison drop in their vase. That droplet is 

 the safeguard of their race — I might really say their 

 means of subsistence ; therefore they use it economi- 

 cally, in the serious business of the chase, with no 

 parade of vengeful courage. I was not once punished 

 by a sting when I established myself amid colonies 

 of our various predatory Hymenoptera, whose nests 

 I overturned, carrying off larvae and provisions. 

 To induce the creature to use its weapon, one must 

 lay hold of it, and even then the skin is not always 

 pierced, unless one puts within reach a part more 

 delicate than the fingers, such as the wrist. 



