MASONS 83 



few diagonal streaks of mud, which make the whole 

 affair look like a piece of acacia bark. Although a 

 piece of bark looks out of place on the wall of a 

 house, it may be presumed that before the wasp 

 developed a liking for human society it was in the 

 habit of placing its nests on tree-trunks. 



In parts of the United States the people suffer 

 annoyance from the similar habits of another 

 species of Scelifhron, and Burbidge figures one 

 that he met with in Labuan, of which he says : 

 " One of the most common and interesting of the 

 domestic insects is the c Mason Wasp,' a large 

 yellow species which constructs a series of mud 

 cells or a gallery of earth against the woodwork of 

 the verandah or roof. In each cell, as completed, 

 an egg is deposited, and ere closing up the cavity 

 it is stuffed full of green caterpillars, vvhich are 

 then sealed up alive to serve as food for her larva 

 when hatched out." 



Mr. W. H. Hudson, when in La Plata, suffered 

 from the pertinacity with which these mud-daubers 

 would enter his dwelling, and his admiration for 

 the beautiful mason and her industry was swallowed 

 up in his disgust with her methods of filling her 

 cells. He says : 



" These insects, with a refinement of cruelty, 

 prefer not to kill their victims outright, but merely 

 to maim them, then house them in cells where 

 the grubs can vivisect them at leisure. This is 

 one of those revolting facts the fastidious soul 

 cannot escape from in warm climates ; for in and 



