The Hunting Wasps 



but a single Fly. If it were possible, by 

 counting the remnants contained in a cell 

 whose occupant is full-grown, to tell the num- 

 ber of victims supplied to the larva, we should 

 know how often at the least the Wasp vis- 

 ited her burrow after laying the egg. Un- 

 fortunately, these broken victuals, chewed 

 and chewed again at moments of scarcity, 

 are for the most part unrecognizable. But, 

 if we open a cell with a less forward nurse- 

 ling, the provisions lend themselves to exam- 

 ination, some of them being still whole or 

 nearly whole, while others, more numerous, 

 are represented by fragments in a state of 

 preservation that enables them to be identi- 

 fied. Incomplete though it be, the list ob- 

 tained under these conditions is surprising 

 and shows what activity the Wasp must dis- 

 play to satisfy the needs of such a table. I 

 will set forth one of the bills of fare which 

 I have observed. 



At the end of September, around the larva 

 of a Jules' Bembex {Bembex Jiilii),^ which 

 has reached almost a third of the size which 

 it will finally attain, I find the following heads 

 of game: six Echinomyia riibescens (two 



^For a description of this new species, see the Appen- 

 dix to the present volume. — Author's Note. 



286 



