104 FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



Protected in this fierce way against the invasion of in- 

 truders, and fed with excellent honey, the grubs in my cage 

 prosper greatly. But of course there are exceptions. In 

 the Wasps' nest, as everywhere, there are weaklings who are 

 cut down before their time. 



I see these puny sufferers refuse their food and slowly 

 pine away. The nurses perceive it even more clearly. They 

 bend their heads over the invalid, sound it with their antennae, 

 and pronounce it incurable. Then the creature at the point 

 of death is torn ruthlessly from its cell and dragged outside 

 the nest. In the brutal commonwealth of the Wasps the 

 invalid is merely a piece of rubbish, to be got rid of as soon 

 as possible for fear of contagion. Nor indeed is this the 

 worst. As winter draws near the Wasps foresee their fate. 

 They know their end is at hand. 



The first cold nights of November bring a change in the 

 nest. The building proceeds with diminished enthusiasm ; 

 the visits to the pool of honey are less constant. Household 

 duties are relaxed. Grubs gaping with hunger receive tardy 

 relief, or are even neglected. Profound uneasiness seizes 

 upon the nurses. Their former devotion is succeeded by 

 indifference, which soon turns to dislike. What is the good 

 of continuing attentions which soon will be impossible ? A 

 time of famine is coming ; the nurslings in any case must 

 die a tragic death. So the tender nurses become savage 

 executioners. 



4 Let us leave no orphans,' they say to themselves ; ' no 

 one would care for them after we are gone. Let us kill every- 

 thing, eggs and grubs alike. A violent end is better than 

 a slow death by starvation.' 



A massacre follows. The grubs are seized by the scruff 

 of the neck, brutally torn from their cells, dragged out of the 



