66 
PLANTS AND INSECTS 
As soon as the cell is completed, the wasp catches a spider, de¬ 
posits an egg on it and places both within the cell. It continues to 
catch spiders and place them in the cell until the cell is full; then with 
a ball of mud it closes the opening of the little cradle and, leaving the 
egg to take care of itself, goes to prepare another cell in a similar way. 
After two or three days* the egg hatches into a little, white, legless 
grub. It begins at once to answer the demlands of its ravenous appe¬ 
tite by devouring the spiders that are stored up in its cell. By the time 
these are eaten the grub is full-grown and ready to spin a little case 
for itself. In this case it changes into a pupa, and remains until the 
transformation from the grub to an adult wasp is complete. Then, 
moistening the mud with the liquid from its mouth, it bites a hole in the 
end of its cell and comes forth the image of its parents. 
If the eggs are laid early in the summer, the wasps hatch out and 
go to work at once to build nests and' lay eggs. If, however, the eggs 
are laid in the fall, the pupae lie all winter in the cells, not coming forth 
until the following spring. 
The mother wasp dies soon after the eggs are laid. But if she is 
hatched out late in the season and does not lay her eggs, then she 
crawls into some safe crevice and lies dormant until spring. 
As we look at the great things of nature, we are made to wonder 
at the mighty power of God, who created them; but as we study the 
many and peculiar habits and modes of life among the lower forms of 
animal life, we are impressed with the great wisdom of the Creator. 
INTERESTING NUTS ON TROPICAL SHORES 
S HOULD we be privileged to visit the islands of the south seas, one 
of the first things to attract our attention would be the waving 
coconut-palms. These trees tower upward to a height of about one 
hundred feet, and have slender, cylindrical stems about a foot in di¬ 
ameter. At the top they are crowned by a cluster of leaves, numbering 
from sixteen to twenty, which generally curve downward. The leaves 
measure from twelve to twenty feet in length, and have numerous leaf¬ 
lets two or three feet long. 
The coconuts also grow near the top of the trees. They grow in 
clusters and when ripe fall to the ground or are pulled off by the 
natives. Each nut is enclosed in a tough fibrous husk, which protects it 
