The Hairy Amniophila 331 



Wasps are still imprisoned in their cocoons ; I 

 have described her manner of operating on the 

 caterpillar destined for her grub ; I have told 

 of the repeated stings of her dart, distributed 

 over the different nerve-centres. This scien- 

 tific vivisection I had as yet observed but once ; 

 and I longed to see it again. Something might 

 have escaped me on the first occasion, when a 

 long walk had tired me ; and, even if I had 

 really seen everything correctly, it was advis- 

 able to witness the performance a second time, 

 so as to establish its authenticity beyond all 

 doubt. I may add that one would never weary 

 of the spectacle, even if it were repeated a 

 hundred times over. 



I therefore watched my Ammophilse from 

 the moment of their first appearance ; and, as 

 I had them here, within my precincts, only a 

 few steps from my door, I could not fail to 

 catch them hunting, provided that my assiduity 

 were not relaxed. The end of March and the 

 whole of April were spent in vain waiting, either 

 because the moment of nidification had not 

 yet come, or, more probably, because my 

 vigilance was at fault. At last, on the 17th of 

 May, a lucky chance presented itself. 



A few Ammophilse strike me as very busy : 

 suppose we follow one of them, more active 

 than the rest. I detect her giving a last sweep 



