CHAPTER XXXI 



THE BLUE HUNTRESS 



Chlorion neotropicus Kohl 

 Fig. 133; 13-16 



Close to the out-house, whose rough frame supports the 

 nursery of the blue huntress, lies a heap of rich red-orange 

 clay, thrown up from a pit on the trail to the forest. It 

 attracts a dozen busy mason-wasps who arrive from far and 

 near to gather up the pliable, ready-made mortar and bear 

 it away to their nests. We are concerned only with a single 

 member of the laboring crowd. She is at once distinct in 

 size. Her rich metallic color attracts our attention and holds 

 it over eleven less comely ones. 



The cement which she is gathering is pliable like putty, 

 but rilled with tiny bits of stones that make its contents simi- 

 lar to that of very fine concrete. These tiny stones which are 

 large rocks to the insect, lend themselves admirably to the 

 needs of her nest. They lend a rough, rugged appearance 

 to the three-celled nursery, but form an impregnable barrier 

 against a host of enemies. 



The building material is laid on in irregular heaps. 

 They dry very rapidly as the work progresses, giving the 

 nest the appearance of a bit of fairy hill country covered 

 with a thousand disorderly loads, spilled helter-skelter from 

 as many tiny dump carts. The wasp cares little for outside 

 appearances which are of no account. She is concerned 

 chiefly with finishing the interior, which is a far more serious 

 matter. 



Within, the cells are quite as smooth as they are rough 

 without, a condition necessary in view of the delicate con- 

 tents they are to shelter. The slightest projecting bit of 

 stone work, even a sharp grain of sand overlooked, might 



