n 



most cases a beetle-killed pine is pretty well 

 rotted in five years and usually falls to pieces in 

 less than a decade. Borers attack upon the heels 

 of the beetles, and the holes made by the beetles 

 admit water and fungi into the wood. This rap- 

 idly reduces the wood to a punky, rotten mass. 



One day in Colorado I tore a number of wind- 

 wrecked, bug-killed trees to pieces and was 

 busily engaged examining the numerous popula- 

 tion of grubs and borers, when some robins and 

 other birds discovered the feast, collected, and 

 impatiently awaited their turn. Perceiving the 

 situation, I dragged a fragment of a log to one 

 side for examination while the birds assembled 

 to banquet and dispute. 



Returning to the rotten logs for another grub- 

 filled fragment, I paused to watch some wasps 

 that, like the birds, were feasting upon these 

 grubs. A wasp on finding a grub simply thrust 

 his snout into the grub and then braced himself 

 firmly as he bored down and proceeded to suck 

 his victim's fluids. In throwing a log to one side 

 I disturbed a bevy of slender banqueters that 

 I had not seen. Instantly a number of wasps 



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