The Hunting Wasps 



famous " struggle for life " the radical 

 method of extermination. I have seen them 

 sometimes, when too close-pressed by the 

 Midges, drop their prey and fly away in mad 

 haste, but without any hostile demonstration, 

 though the putting down of the burden left 

 them quite free in their movements. The 

 abandoned prey, but now so ardently coveted 

 by the Tachinae, lay on the ground, for all to 

 do as they pleased with; and not one of them 

 took any notice of it. This game lying in 

 the open air had no value for the Midges, 

 whose larvae require the shelter of a burrow. 

 It was valueless also to the suspicious Bem- 

 bex, who, on returning, felt it for a moment 

 and left it with scorn. A momentary break 

 in her vigilance had made her doubtful of 

 it. 



We will end this chapter with the story 

 of the larva. Its monotonous life offers no- 

 thing remarkable in the fortnight during 

 which it eats and grows. Next comes the 

 construction of the cocoon. The meagre de- 

 velopment of the silk-producing organs does 

 not allow the grub a dwelling of pure silk, 

 composed, like those of the Ammophilas and 

 the Sphex, of several wrappers, one outside 

 the other, which protect the larva and after- 

 322 



