346 The Hunting JVasps 



ible to another. This is perfectly right ; and 

 yet the insect, generally considered, does not 

 appear to possess exceptional keenness of scent : 

 the effluvia that attract it are perceived without 

 a sense of smell of unusual delicacy. AVhen 

 Dermestes, Silphae and Histers pour into the 

 chalice of a carrion-scented arum lily, never to 

 come out again ; when swarms of Flies buzz 

 around a dead Dog's blue and swollen belly, the 

 whole neighbourhood reeks with the stench. It 

 hardly requires a scent of exquisite accuracy on 

 the insect's part to discover putrid meat and 

 rotten cheese. Wherever we see its hordes 

 gather, with scent for their undoubted guide, 

 we ourselves are cognizant of a smell. 



There remains hearing. This is another sense 

 about wliich entomologists are not adequately 

 informed. Where is its seat ? In the antennae, 

 we are told. Those fine, quivering stalks 

 would seem fairly well suited to be put in 

 motion under the impulse of sound. In that 

 case the Ammophila, exploring the region with 

 her antennae, would be warned of the presence 

 of the Grey Worm by a slight noise coming up 

 from the ground, the noise of the mandibles 

 nibbling a root, the noise of the caterpillar 

 wriggling its hind-quarters. What a faint 

 sound and how difficult to transmit througli 

 the spongy cushion of the earth ! 



