IX ADVANCED THEORIES 117 



compare both with the ephippiger, who carries his 

 musical instrument on his back, two harshly toned 

 cymbals, shaped like hollow scales, and who drags 

 his obese body heavily along, ringed with pale 

 green and butter colour, and ending in a long 

 dagger. Place these three species side by side, and 

 own with me that to be able to choose creatures 

 so unlike, and yet keep to the same entomological 

 order, the Sphex must have such an eye as not 

 only a fairly observant person, but a practised 

 entomologist would not be ashamed of. 



In the presence of these singular predilections, 

 which seem to have limits laid down by some master 

 of classification, — a Latreille for instance — it becomes 

 interesting to inquire if foreign Sphegidae hunt game 

 of the same order. Unfortunately information as 

 to this is scanty or absolutely nil as regards most 

 species. This regrettable lack is chiefly caused 

 by the superficial method generally adopted. An 

 insect is caught, transfixed with a long pin, fastened 

 in a box with a cork bottom ; a ticket with a 

 Latin name is put under its feet, and all is said. 

 This way of looking at entomological history does 

 not satisfy me. It is useless to tell me that such a 

 species has so many joints in its antennae, so 

 many nerves in its wings, so many hairs on a part 

 of the abdomen or thorax ; I do not really know 

 the creature until I have learned its manner of life, 

 its instincts and habits. And observe what a luminous 

 superiority has a description of the latter kind, 

 given in two or three words over long descriptions, 

 sometimes so hard to understand. Let us suppose 

 that you want to introduce Sphex occitanica to me ; 



