Advanced Theories 



Crickets or fat Ephippigers? I confess that 

 I cannot tell, that I am absolutely in the dark ; 

 and I leave the problem to others. At the 

 same time, we may observe that the Orthop- 

 tera are among insects what the Ruminants 

 are among mammals. Endowed with a 

 mighty paunch and a placid temperament, 

 they graze contentedly and soon put on flesh. 

 They are numerous, widely distributed and 

 slow in movement, which renders them easy 

 to catch; moreover, they are of a large size, 

 making fine heads of game. Who can say 

 if the Sphex-wasps, powerful huntresses, re- 

 quiring big prey, do not find in these Rumi- 

 nants of the insect world what we ourselves 

 find in our domestic Ruminants, the Sheep and 

 the Ox, peaceable victims yielding plenty of 

 flesh? It is just a possibility, but no more. 

 I have something better than a possibility 

 to offer in reply to another and no less im- 

 portant question. Do the Orthopteron-eat- 

 ers ever vary their diet? Should the favour- 

 ite type of game fall short, can they not accept 

 a different one? Does the Languedocian 

 Sphex consider that there is nothing in the 

 world worth having but fat Ephippigers? 

 Does the White-edged Sphex allow none but 

 Locusts to figure on her table ; and the Yellow- 



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