The Hunting Wasps 



later; and, trusting to her good memory to 

 return presently to the spot where the booty 

 lies, she set out to explore the neighbourhood 

 with the object of finding a suitable site and 

 there digging a burrow. Once the home was 

 ready, she came back to her prize, which she 

 found again without much hesitation, and she 

 now prepares to lug it home. She bestrides 

 the victim, seizes one or both of the antennae 

 and off she goes, tugging and dragging with 

 all the strength of her loins and jaws. 



Sometimes, she has only to make one jour- 

 ney; at other times and more often, the carter 

 suddenly plumps down her load and quickly 

 runs home. Perhaps it occurs to her that the 

 entrance-door is not wide enough to admit 

 so substantial a morsel; perhaps she remem- 

 bers some lack of finish that might hamper 

 the storing. And, in point of fact, the 

 worker does touch up her work : she enlarges 

 the doorway, smooths the threshold, strength- 

 ens the ceiling. It is all done with a few 

 strokes of the tarsi. Then she returns to 

 the Ephippiger, lying yonder, on her back, a 

 few steps away. The hauling begins again. 

 On the road, the Sphex seems struck with a 

 new idea, which flashes through her quick 

 154 



