234 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Sept., '05 



comparatively heavy body into the nest. Then too at that 

 late hour when Cteniza is abroad almost all wasps are asleep. 



If, as Dr. McCook in his work on spiders has suggested, this 

 building of the trap door is but the outgrowth of the necessity 

 for self preservation, then this is the enemy she has built 

 against in California. 



The behaviour of the spider makes it self evident that an 

 innate fear of some deadly enemy exists. The presence of 

 the door alone would under ordinary circumstances suffice to 

 protect the insect, but if as I have suggested this Parapom- 

 pilius deliberately lifts the door to attack the inmate in its 

 cell, a sufficient reason is given for the eternal watchfulness 

 displayed by the spider. She is always situated close to the 

 door ready to hook a limb into the silk to hold it down on the 

 least disturbance ; and when the heat of the advancing season 

 leaves her lethargic, she deliberately seals her door for pro- 

 tection. 



The method adopted by the wasp larva for the protection of 

 its cocoon is very ingenious. The larva when ready to pupate 

 ascends to near the top of the tube, and there spins a thin 

 diaphragm clear across the lumen of the tube. From the 

 point of junction of the diaphragm with the sides, a curtain 

 is attached all round, the other end being attached to the top 

 of the cocoon one quarter inch from its apex. The cocoon 

 which measures one and a half inches long, is thus suspended 

 freely in the centre of the tube. When the winter rains come 

 the waterproof diaphragm protects the cocoon from the rain 

 above, and its suspension saves it from what accumulates 

 below. In due season the perfect insect gnaws a circle round 

 the top of its cocoon, detaches it and escapes to gnaw its way 

 through the trap door to the outer air. 



Fortune's Foundation. — Do not wait until you can get a large sum 

 to begin your savings. The most industrious worker in the insect king- 

 dom — the bee — does not wait until some fortunate circumstance places a 

 lot of pollen before her. She gathers the honey in the smallest particles, 

 adding to her store with infinite patience and work until she fills the 

 combs against rainy days and future needs. 



