The Hunting Wasps 



ance, incapable of wishing to resist, is seized 

 by the nape of the neck and dragged to the 

 nest. Comment would mar the eloquence of 

 such facts as these. 



The Hairy Ammophila has twice allowed 

 me to attend her surgical operations. I have 

 described in an earlier chapter of this vol- 

 ume my first observation, which dates many 

 years back. On that occasion. I witnessed 

 the performance quite unexpectedly; to-day, 

 I have made all my preparations and have 

 plenty of time at my disposal, so that I am 

 able to make a much more thorough observa- 

 tion. In each case there was a multiplicity 

 of needle-pricks, which were distributed 

 methodically, from front to back, along the 

 ventral surface. Is the number of stings in- 

 deed identical in both cases? This time, it 

 is exactly nine. In the case of the victim 

 which I saw paralysed on the Plateau des 

 Angles, it seemed to me that the weapon in- 

 flicted more wounds, though I am not able 

 to state the precise number. It is quite pos- 

 sible that this number varies slightly and that 

 the last segments of the caterpillar, being 

 much less important than the others, are at- 

 tacked or left alone according to the size and 

 strength of the quarry to be incapacitated. 

 388 



