. The American entomologist. Entomology. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 137 ments, tlie latter correclly remarking tliat "none bnt social insects feed their larva? periodically.* Strictly speaking, the Digger Wasps do not feed their larva' at all. They collect suitable food into a suitable nest, lay au egg therein, close up the nest, aud then leave it forever. As a general rule, it is only the higher animals that feed and tend their young after they are born. All inani- inals, and almost all birds do this, while it is done by but very few reptiles and by still fewer tislies. Consequently, as
. The American entomologist. Entomology. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 137 ments, tlie latter correclly remarking tliat "none bnt social insects feed their larva? periodically.* Strictly speaking, the Digger Wasps do not feed their larva' at all. They collect suitable food into a suitable nest, lay au egg therein, close up the nest, aud then leave it forever. As a general rule, it is only the higher animals that feed and tend their young after they are born. All inani- inals, and almost all birds do this, while it is done by but very few reptiles and by still fewer tislies. Consequently, as the Social Insects (Honey-bees, Hornets, Yellow-jackets, Ants and White Ants) have this propensity, and, as any one may see by disturbing au Ant's nest, are as much attached to their larva? as a mother is to her child, we may justly, so far as this character goes, consider them as superior to other insects. But any mode of classification, founded excliisiveti/ upon this one single character, would be open to the same objection as certain modern Systems of Classifi- cation broached of late years in this country, and founded exclusively upon a single character; namely, that they are artificial and not natural systems. It may not be amiss to remark here, that (here is a small group of Digger Wasps {Mutilln sub-family), the females of which have not even (he slightest vestiges of wings, and strongly re- semble ants, for which tliey are often mistaken by young entomologists. They may be distin- guished, however, at ouce from any of the Ants by their antennas not being flail-shaped, or"geni- culate " as it is technically termed. From the great dissimilarity of the females to the males, some excellent entomologists were foruierly in certain cases deceived into referring the two sexes, not only to distinct species but to distinct genera; and the very same thing has occurred with another genus (Jfyzine) belonging to au ^ allied group {Sco/ia family), where the sexes are indeed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1
