Bramble-bees and Others 



with females and ends with males, but mud- 

 dles up the order and mixes the two sexes 

 anyhow between the extreme points — becomes 

 a regular law with her kinswoman. The 

 mother occupies herself at the start with the 

 stronger sex, the more necessary, the better- 

 gifted, the female sex, to which she devotes 

 the first flush of her laying and the fullness 

 of her vigour; later, when she is perhaps al- 

 ready at the end of her strength, she bestows 

 what remains of her maternal solicitude upon 

 the weaker sex, the less-gifted, almost negli- 

 gible male sex. 



O. parviila, of whom, unfortunately, I 

 possess but one series, repeats what the pre- 

 vious witness has just shown us. This series, 

 one of nine cocoons, comprises five females 

 followed by four males, without any mixing 

 of the sexes. 



Next to these disgorgers of honey and 

 gleaners of pollen-dust, it would be well to 

 consult other Hymenoptera, Wasps who de- 

 vote themselves to the chase and pile their 

 cells one after the other in a row, showing 

 the relative age of the cocoons. The bram- 

 bles house several of these : Solenius vagus, 

 who stores up Flies; Psen atratus, who pro- 



lOO 



