THE HUNTRESS WASPS 



flies (Diptera); the hornets, for example, invading our 

 kitchens and rooms to prey upon the house fly. Still 

 other species capture the larvae of moths. The hand- 

 some digger wasp (Sphecius speciosus) provisions her 



PIPES-OF-PAN CLAY CELLS OF MUD-DAUBER 

 WASP OCCUPIED BY A GUEST WASP 



tunnel with the cicada, or harvest-fly. But perhaps the 

 spider-hunting wasps have the most interesting habits. 

 The general reader may be satisfied to know that, 

 broadly speaking, wasps may be roughly divided on 

 the basis of their habits into three great groups. The 

 mud-daubers are solitary insects, and build clay cells, 

 which they store with food, and therein leave their 

 young to their fate. With these may be included the 

 potter wasps, so-called because of the jug or pot shape 



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