CHAPTER LI 



VENOMOUS ANIMALS 



' A MONG venomous animals there are some whose 

 xjl poisoned weapon has no other purpose than to 

 serve as a means of defense. Such is the bee, the 

 worker in honey of our hives ; such also is the burly, 

 hairy bumblebee, which also gathers a store of honey, 

 but keeps it underground in rude little pots of wax. 

 Let us not molest them at their task, either inten- 

 tionally or otherwise, and they will not molest us. 

 If we irritate them, they straightway draw on the 

 aggressor and stab him with their venomous dagger. 

 This weapon they carry for defense, not for attack. 



"But there are other and more redoubtable crea- 

 tures that use their venom for killing quickly, and 

 without any dangerous struggle on the victim's part, 

 the prey on which they feed. Of course the offensive 

 weapon is capable of becoming also a defensive one 

 in moments of peril: that which serves to kill the 

 prey serves likewise to repel the enemy. Among 

 animals making this double use of their venomous 

 weapon, first for attack and then for defense, let us 

 note the scorpion and the viper. 



"The scorpion is a hideous creature and of in- 

 terest to us solely on account of its sting. It has a 

 flattened stomach, dragging on the ground, and no 



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