The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-28
INSECT LIFE.
Interesting Experience
Of a summer in
the Country.
WAsPs, BALD-TACED HORNETS AND
SPIDERS.
How the, Live. Move and Act.

The beautiful female wasp described
In our last article. may be frequently OBJ
served posing herself in her gentle
fight, often approaching quite near, and
If no, disturbed, will even venture to
light upon ones person. Some might
suppose, becsuse her dress is bright and
warm, that she il yenomous. High color
Ing IN insects Is generally associated with
this unpleasant accomplishment. Not so,
however, Ia this instance. II Is true our
pretty friend is provided with q sting,
which Is also an ovipositor, and Is used
by her for the most domestic and pacific
purposes. With the same instrument she
kills or paralyzes her prey, and deposits
the germ OF her future offspring. She
has no spite against mankind, and may
be handled with impunity. Upon the
occasion referred 10 above | was sur
prised to find she held in her msndibles
or Jaws supply Of soft mud which she
was carefully depositing on the hard sur
face OF the pathway and then spreading
II out over a circumscribed spot. This
circumstance reminded me that | had
often noticed insects of this class hover
ing over and alighiing along the edges
of small streams and damp places in
meadows but II had never occurred to
me they were doing more than taking up
the moisture necessary 20 their existence.
could never have credited so fair a
creature with a taste for dabbling in mud.
1t was now plain TO me that those | had
before observed had also been collecting
supplies of moist earth, and for a pur-
pose now to be explained.
AS soon as my new acquaintance had
exhausted her supply she took gently to
wing and flew directly of towards the
creek at the base Of the bill. My impa-
thence to find out more of what had
seen would not allow me 10 await her re-
turn. Indeed, time was passing, and IL
turned out from what followed that /
should have waited in vain for her
coming Upon closer inspection OF the
spot she had just left, il happened ! had
in my walk arrived just in time TO see
her complete task upon which she bad
no doubt been long employed. Upon APP
plying the point Of my knife-hlade to the
layer of clay she had last deposited Vas
surprised at uncoyering the opening Of
one of those clean cut bOTings described
above Immediately under this covering
was found inferred the carcass Of luck
less larya Of some other insect which our
wasp had captured, stung to insensibility
then deposited her eggs and hid il away
here for ssafely. Upon removing this
worm another septum of clay was found,
under which was another fat grub; and
so on they were discovered slowed away
successive Is to the depth Of SIX or more
inches The case was now made Out.
The wasp some time earlier in the sum
mer had drilled this hole with her own
delicate looking but strong mandibles
through the hard earth to the requisite
depth. Having accomplished this i'm
portant work the remainder OF her time
was spent in collecting the prey upon
which her offspring were TO feed after
her eggs should be Matched. She may
have deposited these eggs in the bodies
Of the grubs, or, as some Of Der congeners
do, only In the same compartment with
them.
1t may now be understood why this
little creature had selected the hardest
ground and the sunniest exposure for
the home OF her future young. She
might with much less labor have drilled
into softer and more porous earth, snd
so spared herself much trouble But in
doing this, she would at The same time
have left her young exposed TO the de-
structiye influences OF the prolonged cold
and wet of the coming winter. 30 also
by selecting a locality upon which The
rays Of the sun would impinge most di
rec,ly in the succeeding spring, her ma
ternal instinct provided that those OF
her Young nearest the heated surface
should come first into active life, and,
having emerged from their hiding places,
would thereby allow sufficient time for
the grubs at a greater depth to escape the
perls Of prolonged delay in their
wintry graves The Larvae Of many in
sects of this order have the power in
themselves of boring into the earth, or OF
being otherwise provided with proper
alternating retreats. Ia these they spin
about their soft bodies warm and d0wny
shrouds within which they sleep, pa
tienily awaiting the time for their meta
morphosis and certain resurrection TO a
new condition of life. This evidently
could not have been the case with The
grubs here referred 20. They had al
ready been killed or paralyzed by ihe
sting of the wasp. Even were they alive
they could not have of themselves de-
posted the successive layers Of clay
by which each was found separated from
the other at differing depths below the
surface. The fact that the busy Insect
was seen in the act Of depositing the last
LAYER Of clay over her precious treasure
proves that she was alone concerned in
the act, aud that she considered her
work as done for the winter in view OF
the facts thus disclosed, / could but re.
call the opinion long ago asserted by the
ancien's that "all wasps were originally
born OF the earth
Upon surveying the damage had done
TO the labors Of our industrious and fair
friend sense of regret somewhat i'm
paired the pleasure of the discovery
had made. ! was consOled. however, by
the reflection that Whist had been done
was not from idle curiosity. 1t also oc-
CURED TO me, that had | no: become the
despoiler some yoracious mole at the
coming of spring, as be tunneed his way
through the yielding earth, would him
self break into and destroy the entire
household.