98 MY STUDIO NEIGHBORS 



did I get any encouragement. Here I discovered 

 one of the midgets in a new position, its pointed 

 helmet inclined farther downward, and its other 

 extremity correspondingly raised, so that I could 

 see beneath its body. I now observed what at 

 first appeared to be the hind leg of the farther 

 side of the body protruding beneath, but in an- 

 other moment noted my error, and saw that its 

 sharp point had penetrated the bark, into which 

 it soon sank quite deeply, and I realized that the 

 ovipositor was now conducting its tiny eggs into 

 the cambium layer of the bark. Without waiting 

 for this particular individual to finish her labors, 

 which might be extended for hours for aught I 

 knew, I turned my glass upon its nearest neigh- 

 bor, and a most accommodating specimen she 

 proved, disclosing all the mysteries of the little 

 froth house, its strange material, and unique 

 method of construction. What I saw reminded 

 me irresistibly of the technique of the cake-frost- 

 ing art of the fancy baker, with its flowing tube 

 of white condiment, and its following tracery of 

 questionable design in high relief. This accom- 

 modating specimen had apparently just com- 

 pleted her egg -laying, or had perhaps just filled 

 one nest; and while her attitude was precisely 

 similar to that of her neighbor, I noticed a tiny 



