The Hunting Wasps 



Latreille * have set upon this Cerceris' sup- 

 port of the natural method! 



" We will now pass to the different 

 manoeuvres of the Cerceris for establishing 

 and victualling her nests. I have already 

 said that she chooses ground with a firm, com- 

 pact and smooth surface; I will add that this 

 ground must be dry and fully exposed to the 

 sun. She reveals in this choice an intelli- 

 gence, or, if you prefer, an instinct, which 

 one might be tempted to consider the result of 

 experience. Loose earth or a merely sandy 

 soil would doubtless be much easier to dig; 

 but then how is she to get an aperture that 

 will remain open for goods to pass in and 

 out, or a gallery whose walls will not con- 

 stantly be liable to fall in, to lose their shape, 

 to be blocked after a few days of rain? Her 

 choice therefore is both sensible and nicely 

 calculated. 



" Our Burrowing Wasp digs her gallery 

 with her mandibles and her front tarsi, which 

 are furnished for this purpose with stiff 

 spikes that perform the office of rakes. The 

 orifice must not only have the diameter of 



iPierre Andre Latreille (1762-1833), a French natu- 

 ralist who was one of the founders of entomological 

 science. Translator's Note. 



10 



