The Hunting Wasps 



Latreille ^ have set upon this Cercerls' sup- 

 port of the natural method! 



" We will now pass to the different 

 manoeuvres of the Cerceris for establishing 

 and victualling her nests. I have already 

 said that she chooses ground with a firm, com- 

 pact and smooth surface; I will add that this 

 ground must be dry and fully exposed to the 

 sun. She reveals in this choice an intelli- 

 gence, or, if you prefer, an instinct, which 

 one might be tempted to consider the result of 

 experience. Loose earth or a merely sandy 

 soil would doubtless be much easier to dig; 

 but then how is she to get an aperture that 

 will remain open for goods to pass in and 

 out, or a gallery whose walls will not con- 

 stantly be liable to fall in, to lose their shape, 

 to be blocked after a few days of rain? Her 

 choice therefore is both sensible and nicely 

 calculated. 



" Our Burrowing Wasp digs her gallery 

 with her mandibles and her front tarsi, which 

 are furnished for this purpose with stiff 

 spikes that perform the of^ce of rakes. The 

 orifice must not only have the diameter of 



iPierre Andre Latreille (1762-1833), a French natu- 

 ralist who was one of the founders of entomological 

 science. — Translator's Note. 



IP 



