87 



br.-incli. (i\ipositor curved sharply ovvv tlic back. Thalessa 

 oommenccs drilling. It is slo«- work and hard work; it 

 may be several hours before she gets to the necessary 

 depth, wliicli may vary frimi one to three inches. Usually 

 when she has to drill to the latter depth she is so exhausted 

 by the labor of boring and egg-laying that she is unable 

 to withdraw the drill and ))erislu's. 



fc -4^#£'^ 



Tbc: T^^J Squirrel is oiu- of tin- most dcstnictiVi' foms wilh uliuii the 

 smatt birds liave to eoi/teiui. 



The eggs hatch within a few hours and the tiny, but 

 active, larvae immediately wriggle along in search of the 

 food that they know is somewhere near. They soon over- 

 take and attach themselves to the Tremex worms upon 

 which they subsist, growing very rajndly. So one insect 

 gives up its life that another m;iy live. Fortunately Tre- 

 mex larva has a habit of occasionally boring to the surface, 

 or the Thaless/i worms would rind themseh es in a prison 



