THE GOLD-BANDED PAPER-MAKER 145 



another, and brush every particle of dust off 

 her body and head. 



Soon after the nest was found the weather 

 turned cool and it rained again. With the 

 temperature at about fifty degrees, the mother 

 settled herself quietly on the nest and made no 

 move to feed her young or to continue her 

 building. Even when the Naturalist visited 

 her she hardly moved from her resting place 

 above the nest. Although it remained cool for 

 two days, as far as could be seen the larvae were 

 not fed. The weather warmed somewhat on 

 the afternoon of the third day, but the wasps 

 were not apparently conscious of it. The 

 fourth day the mother wasp became very ac- 

 tive again and fed her young almost con- 

 stantly. The Naturalist was much puzzled 

 about her feeding. At times she would bring 

 little balls of food which he learned were 

 bits of caterpillars which she had caught 

 and kneaded into pulp between her mandibles. 

 At other times she would seem to feed the very 

 young larvae, when apparently she had nothing 

 to give them. That she did feed them he was 

 sure because they moved their lips as though 

 eating after she left them. Some birds feed 

 their young with partly digested food which is 



