OBSERVATIONS ON INSECT LIFE 195 



Futile is such toil, and every sign of its futility 

 lies patent before the wasp. But the wasp sees it 

 not. What should be hidden lies exposed ; what 

 should be filled lies empty ; what should be a solid 

 mass lies a crumbling ruin ; but to the wasp all is 

 well. She has returned to seal the entrance and, 

 ruin or no ruin, seal the entrance she will. Instinct 

 is blind. It has no concern in the why or how it acts. 

 What it does it must do, and it can do naught else. 

 Every link in its chain of action must be forged no 

 matter how worthless the bond. 



