30 INSECT ARTIZANS AND THEIR WORK 



concern at its absence. She carefully walked over 

 the surrounding ground as though to make sure that 

 her memory was not at fault, then, satisfying herself 

 that it was not there, she extended her survey and 

 at length found her spider. But her actions showed 

 that she was greatly astonished at the change of 

 position, and she appeared to be unable to account 

 for it. It was incomprehensible that she could 

 have left a spider in that position ; but seizing 

 one of its legs she removed it to a tuft of vegetation, 

 and resumed her digging. Fabre again removed it, 

 and when the wasp next rested from her digging she 

 flew straight to the place where she had last left 

 it, and, failing to find it, quartered the immediate 

 surroundings as she had done in the first place. 



Five times the naturalist removed the spider, 

 and every time Pompilus went through the same 

 performance, seeking her treasure where she had 

 last laid it, showing that her sense of locality was 

 perfect. Had she been guided by scent she would 

 probably have gone to one of the places where the 

 spider had previously lain, but this she never did. 

 Nor could sight have played anything more than a 

 subordinate part in the discovery, for Fabre found 

 that, though the spider was only a couple of inches 

 from the wasp in some of her searches, she passed 

 without seeing it. When, however, her sense of 

 locality had brought her to the exact spot where 

 she had left her prey, it was clear that the sense 

 of vision came into play, for when Fabre placed 

 the spider in a slight depression of the ground 



