The Hunting Wasps 



pers of its cocoon, copied from that of the 

 Sphex. The Ammophila digs by herself, 

 quietly, without hurrying, without any joyous 

 enthusiasm. As usual, the fore-tarsi serve as 

 rakes and the mandibles do duty as mining- 

 tools. When some grain of sand offers 

 too much resistance to its removal, you hear 

 rising from the bottom of the well, as though 

 to give voice to the insect's efforts, a sort 

 of shrill grating sound produced by the quiv- 

 ering of the wings and of the whole body. 

 At frequent intervals the Wasp appears in 

 the open with a load of refuse in her teeth, 

 some bit of gravel which she flies away with 

 and drops at a distance of a few inches, so 

 as not to litter the place. Of the grains ex- 

 tracted some appear to deserve special atten- 

 tion, owing to their shape and size; at least, 

 the Ammophila does not treat them as she 

 does the rest: instead of flying off and drop- 

 ping them far from the workyard, she re- 

 moves them on foot and lays them near the 

 well. These are picked materials, ready- 

 made blocks of stone which will serve pre- 

 sently for closing the dwelling. 



This outside work is performed with meas- 

 ured movements and solemn diligence. The 

 insect stands high on its legs, with its ab- 



252 



