CHAPTER VIII 



THE BLUE HUNTRESS 



Chlorion neotropicus, Kohl 



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 at- 

 tracts 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 filled 

 with tiny bits of stones that make its contents similar 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 con- 

 cerned 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 contents they are to 



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