58 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



presumed that before the wasp developed a hking for human society it was in the 

 habit of placing its nest on tree-trunks. In parts of the United States the people 

 suffer annoyance from the similar habits of another species. 



Mr. W. H. Hudson, when in La Plata, suffered from the pertinacity with which 

 these mud-daubers would enter his dwelling ; and his admiration for the beautiful 

 mason and her industry was swallowed up in his disgust \\'ith her method of filling her 

 cells. He says : " These Insects, with a refinement of cruelty, prefer not to kill 

 their victims outright, but merely to maim them, then house them in cells where 

 the grubs can vivisect them at leisure. This is one of those revolting facts the 

 fastidious soul cannot escape from in warm climates ; for in and out of open 

 windows and doors, all dav long, all the summer through, comes the busy, beautiful 

 mason-wasp. A long body, wonderfully slim at the waist, bright yellow legs and 

 thorax, and a dark crimson abdomen — what object can be prettier to look at ? 

 But in her"''life this wasp is not beautiful." 



Photo by] ,t. i/c/-, l.L.S. 



Mud-Dauber's Finished Work. 



This e.xample of the mud-dauber's art was taken from a shed on the Sweet-water Canal at Suez. The shed, both inside and out, was 

 ahnost entirely covered with similar patches. The portion shown is about seven inches long. The holes show where the newly- 

 matured wasps have emerged from the cells. 



In some cases a flesh-fly i has noted the stores of spiders and Insects being 

 taken in, and has concluded that they offer a good opportunity for the disposal of 

 a few of her own eggs. The result is that the mud-dauber grub perishes for want 

 of food, and a like fate awaits the flesh-flies owing to their inability to break through 

 the thick walls of their prison. 



Beetles : their Structure and Habits. 



From the popular point of view beetles have been thought to make a near 

 approach to crabs and lobsters, for their entire outer integument is strengthened by 

 the deposit of much chitin, which renders it hard and horny, just as the similar 

 deposit of chitin mixed with carbonate of lime makes the so-called "shell " of the 

 crab stony. This, of course, is merely an external resemblance : the internal 

 structure and organization of a crab are altogether different from those of a beetle. 



^ .Sarco]iliciga. 



