430 TROPICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



no sign of fatigue. In fact, I believe she rejoiced at the 

 close of a day, well spent in the interests of her race, without 

 a thought for her own spent body, for such is the great spirit, 

 altruistic even though unconscious, that rules the insect 

 world. 



The last cell provisioned and sealed, the wasp abandons 

 her nest. She deserves a rest and a feast of nectar. Hence- 

 forth, nature will take charge of her offspring that she may 

 spend her declining days unburdened. 



Within the cell, the egg hatches in forty-eight hours. 

 In place of the tiny albumen-filled projectile, we have a soft 

 white grub. It is footless and quite unfitted for anything 

 but the consumption of food. It possesses no sting like the 

 parent huntress, and could not compete in battle with the 

 most primitive insect, yet it feeds, immune from danger, 

 upon the spider that lies limply within the cell. Like a 

 foundling, the wasp in its infant state, is reared by a foster 

 parent. Like the child, it lives only upon liquids, drawing 

 them from the huge bosom of its spider wet nurse. As the 

 draining goes on, the spider's body shrivels accordingly. In 

 forty-eight hours the pap is exhausted, but now the grub is 

 strong enough to partake of solid food. Its mandibles are 

 capable of masticating what remains of the feast. In short, 

 it sips the cream first and eats the porridge afterwards. 



After five days of continuous gorging, the larva treats 

 itself to a short rest before spinning its cocoon. During the 

 five days, the spider has vanished so completely from the cell 

 that only a microscope reveals a few uneaten hairs. These 

 adhere to the larva's tacky skin, and thus escape the stom- 

 ach ward journey. I have never seen such a hog! Long af- 

 ter the feast is over, when the dishes have been licked clean, 

 so to speak, the glutted one continues to Fletcherize upon 

 the air. 



The act reveals how hard and fast are the instinctive 

 rules governing the insect's behavior. The larva hatches 

 upon the spider's body. As soon as its mandibles become 



