The Larva and the Nymph 93 



among a heap of victims whose hind-legs, 

 toothed like saws, might give an occasional 

 jerk and whose mandibles might still be capable 

 of snapping. It is therefore the question of 

 safety and not of the grub's hkes or dislikes 

 that determines the mother's choice in placing 

 the egg. 



And here a suspicion occurs to my mind. 

 The first ration, the Cricket on whom the egg 

 is laid, exposes the grub to more parlous risks 

 than do the others. To begin with, the larva 

 is still but a frail worm ; and then the victim 

 is quite a recent one and therefore most likely 

 to give evidence of a spark of life. This first 

 victim has to be paralysed as completely as 

 possible : consequently it receives the \yasp's 

 three dagger-thrusts. But the others, whose 

 torpor deepens the older they grow, the others 

 whom the larva attacks after it has gained in 

 strength : do they need to be operated on as 

 carefully ? Might not one prick be enough, or 

 two pricks, the effects of which would spread 

 little by little while the grub is consuming its 

 first ration ? The poison-fluid is too precious 

 for the Wasp to lavish it unnecessarily : it is 

 hunting-ammunition, to be employed with due 

 economy. At any rate, though I have wit- 

 nessed three consecutive stabs given to the 

 same victim, at other times I have seen only 



