Note 12 — Chapter IV · THE AGENIÆ; THE PELOPÆUS’ VICTUALS

The egg is laid indifferently upon a large joint or a small, according to the chances of the first capture. It is white, cylindrical, slightly curved and measures three millimetres in length, with a diameter of rather less than one millimetre.12 The spot that receives it on the Spider’s body varies hardly at all; it is at the beginning of the abdomen, towards the side. The new-born larva, as is usual with the Hunting Wasps, takes its first bite at the point where the pole of the egg containing the head was fixed. Thus, for its first mouthfuls, it has the juiciest and tenderest part, the Spider’s plump belly. Next comes the thorax, abounding in muscular tissues, and lastly the legs, dry morsels, but not despised. Everything goes down, from the best to the coarsest; and, when the meal is finished, there is practically nothing left of the whole heap of Spiders. This life of gluttony lasts for eight to ten days.