io6 The Huntmg IV asps 



have missed the moment when the nymph is 

 bursting its swaddhng-bands or the wing leaving 

 its case ; you who have taught me so much and 

 learned nothing yourselves, knowing without 

 teachers all that you have to know : O my 

 pretty Sphex-wasps, fly away without fear of 

 my tubes, my boxes, my bottles, or any of my 

 receptacles, through this warm sunlight beloved 

 of the Cicadae ; ^ go, but beware of the Praying 

 Mantis,^ who is plotting your ruin on the 

 flowering heads of the thistles, and mind the 

 Lizard, who is lying in wait for you on the sunny 

 slopes ; go in peace, dig your burrows, stab 

 your Crickets scientifically and continue your 

 kind, to procure one day for others what you 

 have given me : the few moments of happiness 

 in my life ! 



' Cf. Social Life in the Insect World : chaps, i. to iv. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



^ Cf. Social Life in the Insect World: chaps, v. to v\\.— Trans- 

 lator'' s Note. 



