POISON-FANG AND STILETTO 165 



particular in her choice of game, and darts 

 rapidly backwards and forwards until her sharp 

 eyes light upon the fat, soft-bodied larva of a 

 beetle or butterfly. In an instant she pounces 

 upon the unfortunate insect, stabs it with her 

 poisoned dart, then firmly grasping her victim's 

 head with her jaws and clasping its body closely 

 underneath her own with her legs, she flies off 

 with it, deposits it in her burrow, and at once 

 is off again in search of further booty. As many 

 as fifteen or sixteen little caterpillars are caught, 

 stung, and stored within the nest, where they 

 lie curled up in the form of a ring, and piled up 

 one on the top of another. On the top of this 

 heap of motionless larvae, the Odynerus deposits 

 an egg, she then closes the cell and sets to work 

 digging another chamber ; generally three or 

 four cells are formed side by side, and are all 

 entered by the same little tunnel. When these 

 are provisioned, and an egg laid in each, the 

 insect destroys the tube and closes her burrow. 

 The larvae stored within the cells by the 

 Odynerus are not dead, as would naturally be 

 supposed, but are paralyzed by the poisonous 

 fluid which is injected into the wound made by 

 the dart. By a wonderful inspiration of instinct, 

 the insect appears to know that the life of her 

 future offspring depends on their being supplied 

 with fresh animal food. If the cells were pro- 

 visioned with dead insects, the larva of the Wall 

 Wasp would find a heap of dried-up, decaying 

 bodies, and as such food would be utterly un- 

 suitable to the newly hatched, feeble maggot, 

 the little creature would perish for want of 



