CHAPTER XIV 

 THE HUNTRESS WASPS 



IT is not mere fancy that sees in insect common- 

 wealths, in tailoring birds, in kidnapping ants, and 

 ballooning spiders resemblances more or less distinct of 

 well-known actions of men. The analogies clearly lie 

 in the facts. Is not this what one should look for if, 

 as the theory of evolution requires, all nature is bound 

 together in a common origin from one Overmind and 

 Overforce? One is therefore prepared to moderate his 

 surprise at learning that the idea of preserving flesh 

 foods in sealed vessels has its analogy in the method of 

 the huntress wasps. 



Many a village or country bred reader will recall his 

 surprise at finding dead spiders within the clay cell of 

 a mud-dauber wasp. Had he opened the nest at a 

 favorable moment, he might have satisfied part of his 

 wonder by finding a white larva devouring the creatures 

 enclosed with it in the cell. At this point we may take 

 up the story of nature and help the curious mind in its 

 research. 



When summer warmth has awakened the maternal 

 instincts of the insect world, the mud-dauber wasp may 

 be seen gathering mortar at the margin of stream, pool, 

 or puddle. Filling her mandibles, which serve as both 

 spade and hod, she bears the load of mud to some rough 



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