THE CARPENTERS 247 



small wasps, there are some giants of 

 the race that bore holes several inches 

 long in solid wood, and naturally these 

 are not regarded with favour by man, 

 as they spoil the timber into which they 

 tunnel 



One sometimes breaks the dry stalk of 

 an elder, bramble, sumac, or other pithy 

 plant, to find the central cavity partitioned 

 into compartments and stufi^ed with mo- 

 tionless insects. The meaning of this is 

 evident. One of the carpenter wasps has 

 been at work fitting up its nursery; for 

 certain species of them prefer a hollow 

 twig to any other building-place. Some- 

 where in each compartment is an tgg^ or 

 it may be a larva has already hatched and 

 is contentedly eating its way to adult 

 waspdom through its roomful of stored- 

 up insects. Later these larvae will have 

 spun themselves cocoons, and will go 

 through the pupal stage common to all 



