The Laiigtiedocian Sphex 135 



them. Even as her kinswoman, the Yellow- 

 winged Sphex, seeks the society of her kind 

 and the animation of a yard full of workers, 

 the Languedocian Sphex prefers isolation, quiet 

 and solitude. Graver of gait, more formal in 

 her manners, of a larger size and also more 

 sombrely clad, she always lives apart, not caring 

 what others do, disdaining company, a genuine 

 misanthrope among the Sphegidae. The one is 

 sociable, the other is not : a profound difference 

 which in itself is enough to characterize them. 



This amounts to saying that, with the 

 Languedocian Sphex, the difficulties of ob- 

 servation increase. No long-meditated experi- 

 ment is possible in her case ; nor, when the first 

 attempts have failed, can one hope to try them 

 again, on the same occasion, with a second or 

 a third subject and so on. If you prepare the 

 materials for your observation in advance, if, 

 for instance, you have in reserve a piece of 

 game which you propose to substitute for that 

 of the Sphex, it is to be feared, nay, it is almost 

 certain that the huntress will not appear ; and, 

 when she does come at last, your materials are 

 no longer fit for use and everything has to be 

 improvised in a hurry, that very moment, 

 under conditions that are not always satisfactory. 



Let us take heart. The site is a first-rate 

 one. Many a time already I have surprised 



