. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. HONEY-GATHERING HABITS OF I' XVASI'S. :; I I v ' in a significant manner, hut very different from the " licking-her- chops " manner of the workers after they take the liquid from the larva?, for in the latter case not only were the mandibles in motion, but also the labium, palpi, etc., were actively registering satisfac- tion or function. The approaching train brought the observations to a sudden close. Hastily I pulled out the mother wasp and threw the gleam of the flashlight deep into the cells, and lo! i
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. HONEY-GATHERING HABITS OF I' XVASI'S. :; I I v ' in a significant manner, hut very different from the " licking-her- chops " manner of the workers after they take the liquid from the larva?, for in the latter case not only were the mandibles in motion, but also the labium, palpi, etc., were actively registering satisfac- tion or function. The approaching train brought the observations to a sudden close. Hastily I pulled out the mother wasp and threw the gleam of the flashlight deep into the cells, and lo! in the far corner of each lay a tiny larva, hardly larger than an egg! I could solve the mystery of her long stops in these two cells only by concluding that she was feeding them with the material from her own mouth, since I was sure she brought nothing to the cells in her jaws. I pondered on the number of times she had poked her head inquir- ingly into the three cells containing eggs; then I realized that her frequent visits here were probably for the purpose of ascertaining if they had yet hatched or were ready for her attention. The larvae she did not need to mind just now, but the new-born twin- and the eggs had all her attention. My most recent observations have led me to believe that the queen does not deposit this honey with the intention of making a self-feeder for the larva, so that when the egg hatches the larva has only to thrust its head into it and imbibe, but rather that she stores it here temporarily where it will soon be needed and where she can easily administer it to the waspling as soon as it is ready. The ground for this conclusion is the fact that these drops are al- most always placed far below the egg in the cell, or on the opposite wall, so that it is quite impossible for the new-born larva? to reach them. I have seen dozens of young larva? in early spring nests which had been brought into the laboratory, die with large drops of honey before their very ey
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlilliefrankrat, booksubjectbiology, booksubjectzoology
