What does the Wasp addicted to a predatory life eat, of course in the
larval state? Now, to begin with, we see natural sections which adopt as
their prey different species of one and the same order, in one and the same
group. Thus the Ammophilae hunt exclusively the larvae of the night-flying
Moths. This taste is shared by the Eumenes, a very different genus. (Cf.
"The Mason-wasps" by J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de
Mattos: chapter 1.--Translator's Note.) The Spheges and Tachytes are
addicted to Orthoptera; the Cerceres, apart from a few exceptions, are
faithful to the Weevil; both the Philanthi and the Palari capture only
Hymenoptera; the Pompili specialize in hunting the Spider; the Astata
revels in the flavour of Bugs; the Bembeces want Flies and nothing else;
the Scoliae enjoy the monopoly of the Lamellicorn-grubs; the Pelopaei
favour the young Epeirae (Or Garden Spiders. Cf. "The Life of the Spider":
chapters 9 to 14 and appendix.--Translator's Note.), the Stizi vary in
opinion: of the two in my neighbourhood, one, S. ruficornis, fills her
larder with Mantes and the other, S. tridentatus, fills it with Cicadellae
(Cf. "The Life of the Grasshopper": chapter 20.--Translator's Note.);
lastly, the Crabronidae (Any Flies akin to the House-fly.--Translator's
Note.). levy tribute upon the rabble of the Muscidae. (Hornets.--
Translator's Note.)

Already you see what a magnificent classification of these game-hunters
might be made with a faithfully listed bill of fare. Natural groups stand
out, characterized merely by the identity of their victuals. I trust that
the methodical science of the future will take account of these gastronomic
laws, to the great relief of the entomological novice, who is too often
hampered by the snares of the mouth-parts, the antennae and the nervures of
the wings. I call for a classification in which the insect's aptitudes, its
diet, its industry and its habits shall take precedence of the shape of a
joint in its antennae. It will come; but when?