The Mason-Wasps 



Calicurgus. 1 The Calicurgus deposits her 

 corpulent victim in a cavern obtained with- 

 out labour in the old plaster at the foot of 

 a wall; the Pelopaeus places hers in a jar, a 

 laborious construction whose capacity has 

 to be reduced to suit the larva. The 

 Pelopaeus, therefore, hunts game of mode- 

 rate size, smaller than one would at first 

 expect from the insect's vigorous appear- 

 ance. If she encounters a species that is 

 apt to become plump, she always selects a 

 young one. This happens in the case of the 

 Cross Spider, who, when full-grown, with 

 her belly swollen with eggs, almost rivals 

 the Calicurgus' Tarantula and who is ad- 

 mitted to the provision-jar only when of 

 niggardly dimensions, very different from 

 those which maturity will bring. For the 

 rest, the size varies, between one specimen 

 and another, by a hundred per cent and 

 more. The essential point is that the 

 quarry can be stored in the narrow jar. 

 This variation in the size of the items pro- 

 vided leads to corresponding variations in 

 their number. One cell is stuffed with a 

 dozen Spiders; another contains only five or 

 six. The average number is eight. The 

 nurseling's sex must of a surety play its part, 



1 Or Pompilus : vide supra. — Translator's Note. 

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