PROTECTIVE ACTIVITIES 



369 



sharp line be- 

 tween the proc- 

 esses that are 

 related primarily 

 to the getting of 

 food and those 

 that are related 

 to protection. In 

 the intestines of 

 a child a tape- 

 worm absorbs its 

 food from the 

 host and it is at 

 the same time 

 protected from 

 all possible ene- 

 mies. It would 

 be absurd to say 

 that the parasite 

 makes its home 

 and its living in 

 the intestines of 

 a vertebrate " be- 

 cause " that is a 

 safe place, al- 

 though it may be 

 true this habitat 

 is indeed safe 

 enough. In the 

 same way, we 

 must be on our 



guard against explaining the activities and peculiarities of ani- 

 mals as though they resulted from some purpose that the animals 

 had in mind. We may be sure only that, to continue to live, an 

 organism must be sufficiently adapted to its surroundings. 



FIG. 187. Nest of the paper wasp, or black hornet 



The queen wasp survives the winter alone. In the spring she 

 builds a small nest of wood pulp, or wasp paper, and lays a 

 few eggs in it. While these are hatching she fetches various 

 grubs and caterpillars, which serve as food for the young. On 

 becoming mature the workers proceed to enlarge the nest and 

 to bring supplies of food. The queen continues to lay eggs 

 throughout the summer, and most of these develop into workers, 

 though some of the eggs hatch into perfect males and some 

 into perfect females. After fertilization the males and the 

 workers die, leaving the queens to live through the winter and 

 to start new colonies in the spring 



