The Languedocian Sphex 



rounded back of a tile. While the digger 

 gives a finishing touch to the burrow, the 

 badly-balanced prey slips and drops to the 

 foot of the wall. The thing must be done all 

 over again and once more by laboriously 

 climbing the height. The same mistake is re- 

 peated. Again the prey is incautiously left 

 on the curved tile, again it slips and again it 

 falls to the ground. With a composure 

 which accidents such as these cannot disturb, 

 the Sphex for the third time hoists up the 

 Ephippiger by scaling the wall and, better- 

 advised, drags her forthwith right into the 

 home. 



As even under these conditions no attempt 

 has been made to carry the prey on the wing, 

 it is clear that the Wasp is incapable of long 

 flight with so heavy a load. To this in- 

 capacity we owe the few characteristics that 

 form the subject of this chapter. A quarry 

 that is not too big to permit the effort of fly- 

 ing makes of the Yellow-winged Sphex a 

 semisocial species, that is to say, one seeking 

 the company of her fellows; a quarry too 

 heavy to carry through the air makes of the 

 Languedocian Sphex a species vowed to soli- 

 tary labour, a sort of savage disdainful of 



