The Poison of the Bee 



ing and be of very little advantage, as In this 

 sort of study it is impossible to marshal one's 

 facts with any regularity. I will, therefore, 

 sum them up in a few examples. 



A colossal member of the Grasshopper 

 tribe, the most powerful in my district, Decti- 

 cus verntchoriis,^ is pricked at the base of the 

 neck, on the line of the fore-legs, at the me- 

 dian point. The prick goes straight down. 

 The spot is the same as that pierced by the 

 sting of the slayer of Crickets and Ephip- 

 pigers.^ The giantess, as soon as stung, kicks 

 furiously, flounders about, falls on her side 

 and is unable to get up again. The fore-legs 

 are paralysed; the others are capable of mov- 

 ing. Lying sideways, if not interfered with, 

 the insect in a few moments gives no signs of 

 life beyond a fluttering of the antennae and 

 palpi, a pulsation of the abdomen and a con- 

 vulsive uplifting of the ovipositor; but, if it 

 is irritated with a slight touch, it stirs its four 



^This Decticus has received its specific name rtf 'verru- 

 civorus, or wart-eating, because it is employed by the 

 peasants in Sweden and elsewhere to bite off the warts 

 on their fingers. — TransLitor's Sotr. 



-A species of Cireen ( jrasshoppcr. Ihe Sphex para- 

 lyses Crickets and (Grasshoppers to provide for food for 

 her grubs. Cf. Insect Life: chaps, vi. to xii. — Transla- 

 tor's Note. 



345 



