296 NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
chamber and made all safe and snug before rush¬ 
ing away to work her maneuvers all over again. 
“ In due time,” explained Uncle John, “ the 
drugged worm will come to life, and finding his 
enemy gone, will go on feeding contentedly. 
Safe and secure and all unsuspected the little egg 
rests in the warm cosy groove for a week or more. 
Then the little Tiphia grub hatches out and be¬ 
gins to suck its host’s fat. Day by day it waxes 
stronger, and finally it eats through into a vital 
part and the beetle grub dies, but not until the 
young Tiphia is quite able to devour the carcass 
before it spoils. Then, finding no other food that 
it cares for in the dark subterranean passage, it 
promptly winds itself in a silken coverlet and 
goes to sleep. As it slumbers. Nature takes a 
hand, and by and by it wakes a full-grown Tiphia, 
longing eagerly for the bright sunshine and the 
life above, which some unseen Power whispers 
about. It takes but a few moments to work up 
through the earth, and find that all the world is 
full of swarming creatures of its own kind. Very 
shortly a mate is found; there is a gay, brief 
honeymoon, and then the males disappear, and 
the females settle down to a mad struggle with 
beetle grubs, as they hurry about in the eager 
business of their life mission. Just how large a 
debt the world in general owes to Mrs. Tiphia 
and her cousin Mrs. Hairy it would be hard to 
