The IVisdom of Instinct 163 



ing at my defeat, it would be the conviction 

 that very few, if any, could vie with these 

 clever ones in cleverness. 



Ah, I now understand why the Sphex does 

 not use her sting to injure the cervical ganglia ! 

 A drop of poison injected here, at the centre 

 of vital force, would destroy the whole nervous 

 system ; and death would follow soon after. 

 But it is not death that the huntress wishes to 

 obtain ; the larvae have not the least use for 

 dead game, for a corpse, in short, smelling of 

 corruption ; and all that she wants to bring 

 about is a lethargy, a passing torpor, which 

 will put a stop to the victim's resistance during 

 the carting process, this resistance being diffi- 

 cult to overcome and moreover dangerous for 

 the Sphex. The torpor is obtained by a method 

 known in laboratories of experimental physio- 

 logy : compression of the brain. The Sphex 

 acts like a Flourens,i who, laying bare an 

 animal's brain and bearing upon the cerebral 

 mass, forthwith suppresses intelligence, will, 

 sensibility and movement. The pressure is 

 removed ; and everything reappears. Even so 

 do the remains of the Ephippiger's life reappear, 

 as the lethargic effects of a skilfully-directed 

 pressure pass off. The ganglia of the skull, 



' Cf. p. 43 n. Flourens' Experiences sur le systhne nerveux 

 were first published in 1825. — Translator's Note. 



