The Mason-Wasps 



is piled in close-packed layers, the stack of 

 worms is continuous. 



Will the larva, now that it possesses 

 a modicum of strength, force itself im- 

 prudently into this heap? Far from it. 

 The victuals are consumed in due order, 

 from the bottommost to the topmost. The 

 larva drags towards it, to a little distance, 

 into the dining-room, the first ring that 

 offers, devours it without danger of being 

 inconvenienced by the others and thus, layer 

 by layer, consumes the batch of two dozen, 

 always in complete security. 



Let us retrace our steps and end with 

 a brief summary. The large number of 

 grubs provided for a single cell and their 

 very incomplete paralysis jeopardize the 

 security of the Wasp's egg and of her new- 

 born larva. How is the danger to be 

 averted? This is the problem; and it has 

 several solutions. The Eumenes, with her 

 sheath, which enables the larva to climb 

 back to the ceiling, gives us one ; the 

 Odynerus, in her turn, gives us hers, a solu- 

 tion no less ingenious and much more 

 complicated. 



The egg and also the newly-hatched larva 

 have to be saved from the danger of contact 

 with the game. A suspension-thread solves 

 56 



