The Eumenes 



abound, she encrusts the whole fabric with 

 them, until it becomes the supreme express- 

 ion of her artistic taste. Is this so or not? 

 Who shall decide? 



The nest of Eumenes pomiformis is the 

 size of an average cherry and constructed of 

 pure mortar, without any outer pebblework. 

 Its shape is exactly similar to that which we 

 have just described. When built upon a 

 large enough horizontal base, it is a dome 

 with a central neck, funnelled like the mouth 

 of an urn. But, when the foundation is 

 reduced to a mere point, as on the twig of a 

 shrub, the nest becomes a spherical capsule, 

 always, of course, surmounted by a neck. 

 It is then a miniature specimen of exotic 

 pottery, a big-bellied alcarraza. Its thick- 

 ness is very slight, less than that of a sheet 

 of paper; it crushes under the least finger- 

 pressure. The outside is not quite even. 

 It displays wrinkles and seams, due to the 

 different courses of mortar, or else knotty 

 projections distributed almost concentric- 

 ally. 



Both Wasps accumulate caterpillars in 

 their coffers, whether domes or jars. Let 

 us give an abstract of the bill of fare. 

 These documents, for all their dryness, 

 possess a value: they will enable whoso 

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