Advanced Theories 127 



The Hornet may prepare her dish on the very 

 flower where the capture was effected, or more 

 often on some twig of an adjacent shrub. The 

 Bee's crop is first ripped open and the honey 

 that runs out of it lapped up. The prize is 

 thus a twofold one : a drop of honey for the 

 huntress to feast upon and the Bee herself for 

 the larvae. Sometimes the wings are removed 

 and also the abdomen ; but generally the 

 Hornet is satisfied with reducing the Bee to a 

 shapeless mass, which she carries off without 

 disdaining anything. Those parts which have 

 no nutritive value, especially the wings, will 

 be rejected on arriving at the nest. Lastly, 

 she sometimes prepares the mash in the actual 

 hunting-field, that is to say, she crushes the 

 Bee between her mandibles after removing the 

 wings, the legs, and at times the abdomen as 

 well. 



Here then, in all its details, is the incident 

 observed by Darwin. A Wasp (Vespa vulgaris) 

 catches a big Fly (Eristalis tenax) ; she cuts 

 off the victim's head, wings, abdomen, and legs 

 with her mandibles and keeps only the thorax, 

 which she carries off flying. But here there is 

 not the least breath of wind to explain the 

 carving process ; besides, the thing happens in 

 a perfect shelter, in the thick tangle of the 

 grass. The butcher rejects such parts of her 



