Wonders of Insect Architecture. 



hum when it alighted and began to work. The little 

 ball of moist clay was laid on the edge of the cell, and 

 then spread out around the circular rim by means of 

 the lower lip guided by the mandibles. The insect 

 placed itself .astride over the rim to work, and on finish- 

 ing each addition to the structure, took a turn round, 

 patting the sides with its feet inside and out before 

 flying off to gather a fresh pellet. It worked only in 

 sunny weather, and the previous layer was sometimes 

 not quite dry when the new coating was added. The 

 whole structure takes about a week to complete. On 

 opening closed nests of this species, which are common 

 in the neighbourhood of Mahica, I always found them 

 to be stocked with small spiders in the usual half-dead 

 state to which the mother wasps reduce the insects 

 which are to serve as food for their progeny." Mr. 

 Bates also describes another Solitary Wasp which 

 makes with clay " a neat little nest shaped like a carafe, 

 building rows of them together in the corners of the 

 verandas." 



Another interesting little Solitary Wasp that builds 

 with clay is called Eumenes. The nest, or rather cell (for 

 she does not join the cells together like the Pelopaeus), 

 which Eumenes constructs with clay, is a small round, 

 vase-shaped earthenware vessel, in the walls of which 

 small stones are embedded to give it greater strength. 

 The cell once formed, Eumenes sets about the work of 

 provisioning it, using for the purpose small caterpillars 

 to the number of fourteen or sixteen for each cell. 

 Whether these caterpillars are stung or not does not 

 appear to be quite certain; but if so, the caterpillars 

 are not deprived of all movement, for they appear still 



93. 



