62 LUTHER BURBANK 



that penetrates a vulnerable point in the shelly 

 armor of the weevil. The sting paralyzes the 

 victim, somewhat as wasps paralyze spiders and 

 caterpillars to supply food for their young. 



After paralyzing the weevil with the poison 

 injected by the sting, the kelep carries its prey 

 to its subterranean nest to feed the larva?. 



The kelep does not confine its predacious 

 attacks to the boll weevil but kills also many 

 other insects found upon the cotton, including 

 the larvae of boll worms and leaf worms. It has 

 the curious habit, Mr. Cook tells us, of storing 

 the dismembered skeletons of captured insects in 

 special chambers of its subterranean home. 



Through Mr. Cook's efforts, this enemy of the 

 boll weevil has been introduced. It has shown its 

 ability to breed both in captivity and in the cotton 

 fields of Texas. The insect forms colonies that 

 are said to be even more highly developed than 

 are the colonies of ordinary ants. New colonies 

 are formed by a subdivision of the older com- 

 munities, as among the honey bees, not by soli- 

 tary females as is usual among ants. 



It is expected that the insects will thrive in the 

 cotton districts, and will serve at least to keep the 

 boll weevil in check, although it is not to be 

 hoped, according to Mr. Cook, that it will alto- 

 gether banish the pest; inasmuch as the weevils 



