i6 



MY STUDIO NEIGHBORS 



hoppers, spiders, cicadae, or caterpillars. In a con- 

 dition of helpless stupor they are lugged off to 

 the respective dens provided for them, and then, 

 hermetically sealed on storage, are preserved as 

 fresh living food for the young hornet larva, 

 which is left in charge of them, and has a place 

 waiting for them all. The developments within 



my brush-handles may serve as a commentary on 

 the ways and transformations of the average 

 hornet. 



One after another of the little green caterpillars 

 is packed into the bamboo cell, which is about an 

 inch deep, and plugged with mud at the base. 

 From seven to ten of the victims are thus stored, 

 after which the little wasp deposits an egg among 

 them, and seals the doorway with a pellet of mud. 

 The young larva, which soon hatches from this 

 egg, finds itself in a land of plenty, surrounded 



