. The hunting wasps [microform]. Guêpes; Wasps. The Return to the Nest 321 nains of d, draws careless .topping, laps also heap of d of the irva Ues. At this tig, have xuberanl rial joy ? y experi- coiitrary. larva at omething over the lurries to hg at the ;k with a 3, topples ly as if it her in her lb thinks seize its ceremony lee of its otly con- iles let go and the mother vanished in terror, making a shrill whimpering noise with her wings. This unnatural sight of the son biting his mother and perhaps even trying to eat her is uncommon and is brought about by circumstances which the observer
. The hunting wasps [microform]. Guêpes; Wasps. The Return to the Nest 321 nains of d, draws careless .topping, laps also heap of d of the irva Ues. At this tig, have xuberanl rial joy ? y experi- coiitrary. larva at omething over the lurries to hg at the ;k with a 3, topples ly as if it her in her lb thinks seize its ceremony lee of its otly con- iles let go and the mother vanished in terror, making a shrill whimpering noise with her wings. This unnatural sight of the son biting his mother and perhaps even trying to eat her is uncommon and is brought about by circumstances which the observer has not at his command ; but what can always be witnessed is the Wasp's profound indifference towards 1; < %pring and the brutal contempt with which she treats that irk- some lump of rubbish, the grub. Once she has raked out the end of the passage, which is the work of a moment, the Bembex returns to her favourite spot, the threshold, where she re- sumes her useless search. As for the grub, it continues to writhe and wriggle wherever its mother has kicked it. It will die without the mother's coming to its assistance, for she fails to recognize it because she was unable to find the customary passage. Go back to-morrow and you shall see it lying in its trench, half baked by the sun and already a prey to the very Fhes that were once its prey. Such is the concatenation of instinctive actions, hnked one to the other in an order which the gravest circumstances are powerless to disturb. What, after all, is the Bembex looking for ^ Her larva, obviously. But, to get at thai larva, she must enter the burrow ; and, to enter that burrow, she must first of all. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Fabre, J. Henri (Jean Henri), 1823-1915; Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander, 1865-1921. London ; Toronto : Hodder a
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License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectwasps, bookyear1916
