192 The Hunting PVasps 



mouth of the pit and compelling her to come 

 and fetch it again, I take advantage of her 

 descent to the bottom of the shaft to seize the 

 prey and put it in a place of safety where she 

 cannot find it. The Sphex comes up, looks 

 about for a long time and, when she is con- 

 vinced that the prey is really lost, goes down 

 into her home again. A few moments after, 

 she reappears. Is it with the intention of 

 resuming the chase ? Not the least in the 

 world : the Sphex begins to stop up the burrow. 

 And what we see is not a temporary closing, 

 effected with a small flat stone, a slab covering 

 the mouth of the well ; it is a final closing, 

 carefully done with dust and gravel swept into 

 the passage until it is filled up. The White- 

 edged Sphex makes only one cell at the bottom 

 of her shaft and puts one head of game into this 

 cell. That single Locust has been caught and 

 dragged to the edge of the hole. If she was not 

 stored away, it was not the huntress's fault, 

 but mine. The Wasp performed her task 

 according to the inflexible rule ; and, also 

 according to the inflexible rule, she completes 

 her work by stopping up the dwelling, empty 

 though it be. We have here an exact repetition 

 of the useless exertions made by the Langue- 

 docian Sphex whose home has just been 

 plundered. 



