Wonders of Insect Architecture. 



the bold adventure of capturing a dangerous and well- 

 armed prey ; for the little Pelopaeus elects to provision 

 her clay-built nest with spiders. Pelopaeus is at once 

 a bold and prudent huntress, and confident in the 

 knowledge that in her strong sting she possesses a most 

 deadly weapon, she fearlessly attacks the spiders, and 

 seems to thoroughly enjoy the dangers of the fight ; for 

 if she can but get in one lightning thrust of her sting, 

 the victory is hers. Knowing full well the danger of 

 her foe, Pelopaeus approaches the web with caution, 

 seeking suddenly to pounce upon and sting the spider 

 before it can do anything ; and generally she is success- 

 ful. Accidents will happen, however, and the best laid 

 schemes of a Pelopaeus may end in disaster, and the 

 spider, prepared for the attack, but apparently resting 

 quietly unconscious of the approach of danger, lures 

 on the over-confident little wasp, who finds her move- 

 ments suddenly paralyzed by a series of fine threads, 

 in which the more she struggles the more hopelessly 

 she becomes entangled. Then the spider rapidly 

 swathes her foe in layers of silken web and calmly de- 

 vours her. However, this fate does not often overtake 

 the Pelopaeus, and generally she will manage to bring 

 one, two, three or more spiders back to the nest, the 

 number depending upon the size of the individual 

 spiders. 



These are all carefully stowed away in the cell, an 

 egg deposited close to them, and then more clay is 

 collected, worked up, and the little chamber closed. 

 Pelopaeus has by no means finished her labours with 

 the construction and victualling of one cell, but at once 

 starts upon the construction of a second, which is built 



