ecatomb of bees must not a colony of these pirates
sacrifice for their personal consumption, to say nothing of their stores
of provisions! I recommend the Philanthus to the vengeance of apiarists.

For the moment we will not look further into the original causes of the
crime. Let us consider matters as we know them, with all their real or
apparent atrocity. In order to nourish herself the Philanthus levies
tribute upon the crop of the bee. This being granted, let us consider
the method of the aggressor more closely. She does not paralyse its
captives according to the customary rites of the predatory insects; she
kills them. Why? To the eyes of understanding the necessity of a sudden
death is as clear as day. Without eviscerating the bee, which would
result in the deterioration of its flesh considered as food for the
larvae; without having recourse to the bloody extirpation of the stomach,
the Philanthus intends to obtain its honey. By skilful manipulation, by
cunning massage, she must somehow make the bee disgorge. Suppose the bee
stung in the rear of the corselet and paralysed. It is deprived of
locomotion, but not of vitality. The digestive apparatus, in particular,
retains in full, or at least in part, its normal energies, as is proved
by the frequent dejections of paralysed victims so long as the intestine
is not emptied; a fact notably exemplified by the victims of the Sphex
family; helpless creatures which I have before now kept alive for forty
days with the aid of a little sugared water. Well! without therapeutic
means, without emetics or stomach-pumps, how is a stomach intact and in
good order to be persuaded to yield up its contents? That of the bee,
jealous of its treasure, will lend itself to such treatment less readily
than another. Paralysed, the creature is inert; but there are always
internal energies and organic resistances which will not yield to the
pressure of the manipulator. In vain would the Philanthus gnaw at the
throat and squeeze the flanks; the honey would not return to the mouth
as long as a trace of life kept the stomach closed.

Matters are different with a corpse. The springs relax; the muscles
yield; the resistance of the stomach ceases, and the vessels containing
the honey are emptied by the pressure of the thief. We see, therefore,
that the Philanthus is obliged to inflict a sudden death which
instantly destroys the contractile power of the organs. Where shall the
deadly blow be delivere