Transactions Texas Academy oe Science. 85 
the “one preeminent unmistakable and everpresent fact is variabil- 
ity ; variability in every particular ; in the shape of a nest and in the 
manner of digging it, in the condition of the nest (whether closed 
or open) when left temporarily, in the method of stinging the prey, 
in the manner of carrying the victim, in the way of closing the nest 
and last, and most important of all, in the condition produced in the 
victims after stinging, some of them dying long before the larva is 
ready to begin on them, while others live long past the time at 
which they would be attacked and destroyed if we had not interfered 
with, the natural course of events. And all this variability, we get 
from a study of nine wasps and fifteen caterpillars.” 
Fabre’s opinion of the instinct of wasps has long been the prevail- 
ing one among naturalists. Komanes depended on Fabre for his 
information. The question would not have been dreaded by Dar- 
win but welcomed with delight had he been aware of the facts as 
afterward presented by the Peckhams. The central point from 
which the influences of the older naturalists were drawn, was the 
assumption that the larvae must be nourished upon fresh food. 
The fact is now, however, fully established that the larva thrives 
quite as well upon dead as upon living food. 
The study of the habits of animals is, indeed, a most fascinating 
branch of zoological work, and the solitary wasps, though so little 
studied, are among the most interesting objects of study owing to the 
great variety of their activities. As to the result to be derived from 
a study of their habits, the solitary wasps may be expected to con- 
tribute no small quota toward the solution of the psychological 
problems concerning the lower animals. 
