those powerful bodies must not retain even the power to quiver, lest they
derange a method of feeding which has to be conducted with the greatest
caution.

The Cetonia-grub to which the Two-banded Scolia's egg is fastened fulfils
the required conditions admirably. It is lying on its back, in the midst of
the mould, with its belly fully extended. Long accustomed though I be to
this spectacle of victims paralysed by the sting of the Hunting Wasp, I
cannot suppress my astonishment at the profound immobility of the prey
before my eyes. In the other victims with flexible skins, Caterpillars,
Crickets, Mantes, Ephippigers, I perceived at least some pulsations of the
abdomen, a few feeble contortions under the stimulus of a needle. There is
nothing of the sort here, nothing but absolute inertia, except in the head,
where I see, from time to time, the mouth-parts open and close, the palpi
give a tremor, the short antennae sway to and fro. A prick with the point
of a needle causes no contraction, no matter what the spot pricked. Though
I stab it through and through, the creature does not stir, be it ever so
little. A corpse is not more inert. Never, since my remotest
investigations, have I witnessed so profound a paralysis. I have seen many
wonders due to the surgical talent of the Wasp; but to-day's marvel
surpasses them all.

I am doubly surprised when I consider the unfavourable conditions under
which the Scolia operates. The other paralysers work in the open air, in
the full light of day. There is nothing to hinder them. They enjoy full
liberty of action in seizing the prey, holding it in position and
sacrificing it; they are able to see the victim and to parry its means of
defence, to avoid its spears, its pincers. The spot or spots to be attained
are within their reach; they drive the dagger in without let or hindrance.