The Hunting Wasps 



external pressure. Of course, I kept for my 

 own purposes the Ephippiger paralysed be- 

 fore my eyes, in order to ascertain the effects 

 of the operation at my leisure; also of course, 

 I hastened to repeat in my turn, upon live 

 Ephippigers, what the Sphex had just taught 

 me. I will here compare my results with the 

 Wasp's. 



Two Ephippigers whose cervical ganglia I 

 squeeze and compress with a forceps fall rap- 

 idly into a state resembling that of the victims 

 of the Sphex. Only, they grate their cym- 

 bals if I tease them with a needle; and the 

 legs still retain a few disordered and languid 

 movements. The difference no doubt is due 

 to the fact that my patients were not previ- 

 ously injured in their thoracic ganglia, as were 

 those of the Sphex, who were first stung on 

 the breast. Allowing for this important con- 

 dition, we see that I was none too bad a pupil 

 and that I imitated pretty closely my teacher 

 of physiology, the Sphex. I confess, it was 

 not without a certain satisfaction that I suc- 

 ceeded in doing almost as well as the insect. 



As well? What am I talking about? 



Wait a bit and you shall see that I still have 



much to learn from the Sphex. For what 



happens is that my two patients very soon die : 



174 



