indefinite number of entomological species. The odds are as one to
immensity.

Let us continue. The larva of the Scarabaeid is snapped up underground, for
the first time. The victim protests, defends itself after its fashion,
coils itself up and presents to the sting on every side a surface on which
a wound entails no serious danger. And yet the Wasp, an absolute novice,
has to select, for the thrust of its poisoned weapon, one single point,
narrowly restricted and hidden in the folds of the larva's body. If she
miscalculates, she may be killed: the larva, irritated by the smarting
puncture, is strong enough to disembowel her with the tusks of its
mandibles. If she escapes the danger, she will nevertheless perish without
leaving any offspring, since the necessary provisions will be lacking.
Salvation for herself and her race depends on this: whether at the first
thrust she is able to reach the little nervous plexus which measures barely
one-fiftieth of an inch in width. What chance has she of plunging her
lancet into it, if there is nothing to guide her? The chance represented by
unity compared with the number of points composing the victim's body. The
odds are as one against immensity.

Let us proceed still further. The sting has reached the mark; the fat grub
is deprived of movement. At what spots should the egg now be laid? In
front, behind, on the sides, the back or the belly? The choice is not a
matter of indifference. The young grub will pierce the skin of its
provender at the very spot on which the egg was fixed; and, once an opening
is made, it will go ahead without hesitation. If this point of attack is
ill-chosen, the nurseling runs the risk of presently finding under its
mandibles some essential organ, which should have been respected until the
end in order to keep the victuals fresh. Remember how difficult it is to
complete the rearing when the tiny larva is moved from the place chosen by