THE ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS 



69 



the common mud-dauber (Pelopce'ua, Fig. 42), seen flying 

 about on sunny days over the muddy edges of puddles and 

 pools, builds its nests of clay and provisions them with 

 spiders. Each cell is filled with paralyzed spiders ; on top 



FIG. 42. Mud-Dauber and Nest. Natural size 



one egg is laid and the cell is sealed. When the larva hatches 

 it finds the requisite amount of food to carry it to the pupal 

 stage. These wasps are distinguished by the long pedicel, or 

 stalk, joining the thorax to the abdomen. 



The digger-wasps of the West, which belong to the genus 

 Ammoph'ila (Fig. 43), make holes a little over a centimeter 



