lit HERMIT HOMES 89 



But in tropical America P. fistularis culls those be- 

 longing to a large group allied to our common garden 

 spider, all possessed of hard shelly polished cover- 

 ings, not even smooth, but shooting out into the 

 most fantastic and formidable projections. The 

 genus Pompilus rival the Sphegidae in bravery and 

 cunning in catching prey. They also provide spiders 

 for their larvae, mostly wandering kinds which never 

 make webs. In this country where about twenty 

 species of Pompilus are known, they are of small size 

 and unimposing. 



In another class of habitation for the young the 

 homes serve in the dual capacity for the shelter 

 and the sustenance of the occupants, and though they 

 spring from the mother's work they rise independ- 

 ently of her construction. It will be understood that 

 we speak of galls, vegetable excrescences that we all 

 know well. They differ in appearance, shapes, and 

 sizes, and affect multitudes of plants, though the oak 

 is especially prone to the attack. All parts of the 

 plant are infested by them, the leaves, the buds, the 

 trunk, the twigs, even the flowers, the fruit, and the 

 root. Every one has observed these abnormal growths, 

 but comparatively few persons are acquainted with 

 the insects to which they owe their origin, and with 

 their young, for whose early up-bringing alone they 

 exist. 



The Hymenoptera that produce galls constitute a 

 group by themselves, the Cynipidse, which contains 

 the genus Cynips, and others very much like it. 

 Though they vary greatly, a striking family re- 

 semblance runs through them all. They have an 



