The Hunting Wasps 



This general fact, to which there is no ex- 

 ception, of the victualling of the egg with a 

 single Fly, a ration infinitely too small for a 

 larva blessed with a voracious appetite, at 

 once puts us on the track of the most remark- 

 able habit of the Bembex. Wasps whose lar- 

 vae live on prey heap up in each cell the num- 

 ber of victims necessary for the rearing of 

 the grub; they lay the egg on one of the bod- 

 ies and close the dwelling, which they do not 

 enter again. From that moment, the larva 

 hatches and develops alone, having before it 

 from the very beginning the whole stock of 

 provisions which it is to consume. The Bem- 

 bex form an exception to this rule. The cell 

 is first stocked with a single head of game, 

 always small in size, and the egg is laid on 

 it. When that is done, the mother leaves 

 the burrow, which closes of itself; besides, 

 before going away, the insect is careful to 

 rake over the outside, so as to smooth the 

 surface and hide the entrance from any eye 

 but her own. 



Two or three days elapse ; the egg hatches 

 and the little larva eats up the choice ration 

 served to it. Meanwhile the mother remains 

 in the neighbourhood and you see her some- 

 times feeding herself by sipping the sugary 

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