A noble Wasp, 
163 
sand wasps, put away a store of insects or spiders, 
partially paralyzed, as a provision for tlie grub till 
it readies tlie pupa state ; it actually supplies tbe 
ofrub witli fresli-cau^lit insects as long as food is 
required, killing the prey it captures outright, and 
bringing it in to its young ; so that its habits, in 
this particular, are more bird- than wasp-like. 
The wasp la^^s its solitary egg at the extremity 
of a hole it excavates for itself on a bare hard piece 
of ground, and many holes are usually found close 
together. When the grub — for I have never been 
able to find more than one in a hole — has come out 
from the egg, the parent begins to bring in insects, 
carefully filling up the mouth of the hole with loose 
earth after every visit. Without this precaution, 
which entails a vast amount of labour, I do not 
believe one grub out of every fifty would survive, 
so overrun are these barren spots of ground used 
as breeding-places with hunting spiders, ants, and 
tiger-beetles. The grub is a voracious eater, but 
the diligent mother brings in as much as it can 
devour. I have often found as many as six or 
seven insects, apparently fresh killed, and not yet 
touched by the pampered little glutton, coiled up in 
the midst of them waiting for an appetite. 
The Monedula is an adroit fly-catcher, for 
though it kills numbers of fire-flies and other insects, 
flies are always preferred, possibly because they are 
so little encumbered with wings, and are also more 
easily devoured. It occasionally captures insects 
on the wing, but the more usual method is to 
pounce down on its prey when it is at rest. At 
one time, before I had learnt their habits, I used 
M 2 
