246 The Hunting JVasps 



small ? Certainly not : a single stab will be 

 enough ; but it will be given at a central point, 

 whence the torpor produced by the tiny drop of 

 poison can spread gradually, with the least 

 possible delay, to the segments furnished with 

 legs. There is no doubt about the segment to be 

 picked out for this single inoculation : it must 

 be the fifth or the sixth, which separate the two 

 groups of locomotory rings. The point indi- 

 cated by rational inferences is therefore also 

 the point adopted by instinct. 



Lastly, let us add that the Ammophila's 

 ^^'^ is invariably laid on the ring that has been 

 rendered insensible. Here and here alone the 

 young larva can bite without provoking danger- 

 ous contortions ; where a needle-prick has no 

 effect, the grub's bite will have no effect either. 

 The grub will thus remain rnotionless until the 

 nurseling has gained strength and can forge 

 ahead without running a risk. 



In my later researches, as the number of my 

 observations increased, I began to entertain 

 doubts, not as to the conclusions which I had 

 formed, but as to their general application. 

 That feeble Loopers and other small cater- 

 pillars are rendered harmless by a single thrust, 

 especially when the sting strikes the favourable 

 spot described, is a thing quite probable in 

 itself and one which can also be proved either 



