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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



I'h.iliJKraph by I'inil Grisuolrl H..«,-s 

 A SKYSCRAPER OF THE WASP WORLD 



This huge Brazilian nest of 40-odd stories, found 

 hanninK from a branch, is the worlc of thousands 

 of individuals. The cells are empty now and part 

 ol the tough, pasteboardlike wall has been stripped 

 away to show the interior (opposite page). 



a week. It then makes a cocoon of earth, 

 mixed with enough silk to make it rather 

 dense, and spends the winter inside. In the 

 sprinp;, after passing through the pupa stage, 

 the wasp digs its way out of the ground. 



The cicada-killers that you see walking 

 or flying about a grassy slope are living 

 evidence of the numerous tragedies that 

 have taken place beneath the sod. 



WASPS DRINK NECTAS AND BEER 



Only the young of this wasp feed on 

 cicadas. The adults, as is the case with 

 nearly all the wasps, are vegetarians. For 

 many days after emerging from the ground, 

 the cicada-killers, indolent and peaceful, 

 wander aimlessly about, lapping up nectar 

 from the flowers. I have seen three of them 

 on a single water hemlock. 



They are especially fond of the sap of 

 certain trees. If truth must be told, they 

 much prefer this sap after fermentation has 

 transformed it into more or less strong beer. 

 Last summer on the border of the Dismal 

 Swamp in Virginia I saw five of them drink- 

 ing along an oozing cut in the trunk of a 

 sycamore. They set up a horrid buzz when 

 I approached too closely. 



Idle ease, nectar, and beer satisfy these 

 wasps for a few weeks. During this time 

 they display not the slightest interest in 

 cicadas. Then, with the attainment of full 

 bodily development, the females somewhat 

 suddenly become demons of dynamic 

 energy murderously inclined toward all 

 cicadas — full-fledged cicada-killers. 



This ferocity, incidentally, is entirely 

 lacking in the males and they do no hunt- 

 ing whatsoever. 



The cicada-killers are interesting because 

 of their great size, and the bulk and power 

 of their victims. It is a thrilling sight to 

 see one of them strike a cicada in full flight 

 and, with its prey, go tumbling to the 

 ground. But their technique is crude — 

 effective, but lacking those finer touches 

 that perfect the picture. So let us consider 

 the most accomplished artists that are 

 found among the digger wasps. 



THE WAY OF A WASP WITH A 

 CATERPILLAR 



Rather large, very slender, and long- 

 waisted wasps commonly are seen early in 

 the summer on wild carrot and other flow- 

 ers (Color Plate IV, figure 5), about de- 

 caying fruit, or drinking at the sides of 

 puddles. Indolent and peaceful, they are 



