178 The Hunting IV asps 



horrible banquet, I have seen the Wasp, with 

 her prey, seized by the Mantis : the bandit was 

 rifled by another bandit. And here is an awful 

 detail : while the Mantis held her transfixed 

 under the points of the double saw and was 

 already munching her belly, the Wasp con- 

 tinued to lick the honey of her Bee, unable to 

 relinquish the delicious food even amid the 

 terrors of death. Let us hasten to cast a veil 

 over these horrors. 



We will return to the Sphex, with whose 

 burrow we must make ourselves acquainted 

 before we go further. This burrow is a hole 

 made in fine sand, or rather in a sort of dust 

 at the bottom of a natural shelter. Its entrance- 

 passage is very short, merely an inch or two, 

 without a bend, and leads to a single, roomy, 

 oval chamber. The whole thing is a rough 

 den, hastily dug out, rather than a leisurely 

 and artistically excavated dwelling. I have 

 explained that the reason for this simplicity 

 is that the game is captured first and set down 

 for a moment on the hunting-field while the 

 Wasp hurriedly makes a burrow in the vicinity, 

 a method of procedure which allows of but one 

 chamber or cell to each retreat. For who can 

 tell whither the chances of the day will lead the 

 huntress for her second capture ? The prisoner 

 is heavy and the burrow must therefore be 



