THE CARPENTERS 237 



was the little carpenter as busy and as 

 alert as ever. 



In course of time the egg hidden with 

 so much care in the wood hatches. The 

 larva, in as impiegnable a fortress as any 

 one could desire, begins at once upon the 

 delightful occupation of consuming lus- 

 cious flies or aphides, or whatever delec- 

 table pabulum its mother has stored up 

 for it. 



It eats and grows. Having nothing to 

 do but eat, and being so constituted that 

 it does not suffer from the lack of other 

 exercise, it grows rapidly. 



Like the other wasp larvae it is a little 

 white, legless grub, and at length, having 

 eaten up everything it can find, it spins 

 itself a silken cocoon in which to undergo 

 the transformations that will cause it to 

 become a perfect wasp, with all the organs 

 and powers and desires of a wasp. 



Its cocoon has sometimes been found 

 gay with the wings of the insects it has 



