. The hunting wasps [microform]. Guêpes; Wasps. 256 The Hunting Wasps. the sand retain the consistency which it might have at the start, when first disturbed: the insect's movements are free, it is safe under cover, it can take its time and use its tarsi and mandibles without undue hurry. Going in is a very different matter. The Bembex is ham- pered by her prey, which her legs hold clasped to her body ; and the miner is thus deprived of the free use of her tools. And a still graver cir- cumstance is this: brazen parasites, veritable bandits in ambush, crouch here and there in the neighbourhood
. The hunting wasps [microform]. Guêpes; Wasps. 256 The Hunting Wasps. the sand retain the consistency which it might have at the start, when first disturbed: the insect's movements are free, it is safe under cover, it can take its time and use its tarsi and mandibles without undue hurry. Going in is a very different matter. The Bembex is ham- pered by her prey, which her legs hold clasped to her body ; and the miner is thus deprived of the free use of her tools. And a still graver cir- cumstance is this: brazen parasites, veritable bandits in ambush, crouch here and there in the neighbourhood of the burrow, spying on the mother Wasp as she makes her laborious en- trance, so that they may rush in and lay their egg on the piece of game at the very moment when it is about to disappear down the corridor. If they succeed, the Wasp's nursehng, the son of the house, will perish, starved by its gluttonous fellow-boarders. The Bembex seems aware of these dangers and makes arrangements for her entrance tt> be effected sw'ftly, without serious obstacles—in short, for the sand blocking the door to yield to a mere push of her head, aided by a brisk sweep of her front tarsi. With tliis (jbjcct, the material at tlie a])proaches to the home are subjected to a sort of sifting. At leisure moments, under a kindly si when the larva has its food and does not need her attentions, the mother rakes the. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Fabre, J. Henri (Jean Henri), 1823-1915; Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander, 1865-1921. London ; Toronto : Hodder and Stoughton
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License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectwasps, bookyear1916
