192 THE SOLITARY WASPS. 



when a larva once attacks a spider it does not leave it for an- 

 other. The others then remain intact which is enough to keep 

 them fresh during the short period of larval life. When, on 

 the contrary, the prey consists of a single large piece, it is nec- 

 essary that the organic life should be maintained, and a special 

 art must also be observed in eating it. It is well then that 

 Pelopaeus is inspired to take numerous small pieces. The egg, 

 moreover, is always placed on the first spider brought in, 

 whether the storing of the nest is completed within a few hours, 

 or whether, as in some cases, it occupies several days, and this 

 M. Fabre considers a very happy arrangement. 



This account of the habits of Pelopaeus and the explanation 

 offered for the several facts is exceedingly important, because 

 the French Pelopaei differ from ours at nearly every point. 

 Ours kill only about two-thirds of their victims, many of the 

 others being paralyzed so perfectly that they live for two or 

 three weeks. Again, ours, instead of placing the egg upon the 

 first spider, almost invariably lay it upon the last one brought in. 

 Another point of difference is that our larvae frequently eat 

 only a part of a spider at a time, returning to finish it later on, 

 a rash and reprehensible course of action of which their better- 

 taught French cousins are never guilty. When one comes to 

 compare the two sets of facts furnished by the two groups of 

 species the deductions which Fabre has drawn as to the import- 

 ance of the instincts of the French group are seen to be un- 

 founded. The American species violate nearly every principle 

 which he considers necessary to their existence, and yet they 

 flourish and multiply. It is just possible that our learned au- 

 thor has put a trifle too much philosophy into his interpretation 

 of the actions of these wasps. For our part we find nothing in 

 the actions of Pelopaeus that needs to be explained nothing 

 that is not well adapted to the conditions under which each 

 species works. The measure of praise or blame which we mete 

 out to these depredators is merely a way of saying whether we 

 would or would not follow their methods in provisioning our 

 houses and rearing our children. Perhaps we should always 



