Show DA KILL E as H M 34 10 m A wv i V 11 Y A JA A J 4 wasp brings home its dinner a cicada wasps and hornets are efficient destroyers of our insect pests prepared by national geographic society washington D C service C TINGS have a high aduca S dional value after one or two experiences with these concealed weapons the personality sona lity of the little sting wielders is firmly impressed upon you it is quite proper to regard the wasps and hornets with respect as they insist you shall but do not let their potent personalities prejudice you against them for it is within this group taken in the broadest sense that is found the cleverest and most ingenious of all the insects as well as the most efficient and destructive enemies of our insect pests the cleverness and ingenuity of wasps take numerous forms each of the many thousands of different kinds has its own little specialty which differs more or less from that of every other kind among these specialties few are more fascinating than those of the various digger wasps that burrow in the ground and lay up in little chambers food upon which their young subsist look closely into the habits of some of the common digger wasps and see what they are doing in that sultry season when you can think only of vacation for it is then that they display the greatest energy familiar to everyone in the hot still midsummer days is the monotonous no shrill song of the cicada hornets prey on cicadas once in a while one of these monotonous no trills brills stops suddenly you hear bear a discordant shriek that startles you for a moment then all is the same again the heat and the interminable trills brills of the cicadas what has happened one of natures little tragedies A cicada c has been surprised by a cicada k killer iller has fled shrieking away and in all probability has been caught and stung not to death but into a state of complete helplessness the cicada killer is one of the largest and most conspicuous as well as as one of the commonest of burrowing wasps to many people it its is known as a hornet in fact the hornet and is much feared but it is is not at all aggressive it resents of course but us its nature is wholly peaceful except when cicadas are concerned cicadas are its only prey sometimes you see it flying about a tree hunting for a victim up among the branches or pursuing a cicada at high speed through the air but it is usually noticed dragging a cicada often much larger than itself along the ground on the way to its burrow this nursery is commonly made in in the higher and drier portions of lawns or in sloping grassy banks and runs to a more or less spherical cell about an inch and a half in in diameter the finished nursery usually includes four cells after each cell is completed the mother wasp goes on a hunting expedition tion in bringing the cicada to the cell she frequently hoists her victim laboriously up a tree from which she flies diagonally down toward her burrow thus she saves nuch much time and energy for dragging a creature as large as a cicada ah through h the grass is a herculean t task ask even for so powerful a wasp usually though not invariably a second cicada is added t to 0 the first after the cicadas still alive but lael pless are stored safely in the underground cell the wasp places an egg on the body of on one e of them I 1 just under one of the middle legs then en closes the cell with earth weeks food for the grubs the s egg hatches in three days I 1 and the grub feeds on the cicadas ia for a little over a week it then makes a cocoon of earth mixed with enough silk to make it rather dense and spends the winter insi inside de in the spring after passing through the pupa stage the wasp digs its way out of the ground the cicada killers that you see walking or flying about a grassy slope are living evidence of the numerous tragedies that have taken place beneath the sod idle ease nectar and beer satisfy these wasps for a few weeks during this time they display not the slightest interest in cicadas then with the attainment of full bodily development the females somewhat suddenly become demons of dynamic energy murderously inclined toward all cicadas full fledged cica da killers the cicada killers are interesting because of their great size and the bulk and power of their victims it is a thrilling sight to see one of them strike a cicada in full flight and with its prey go tumbling to the ground but their technique is crude effective but lacking those finer touches that perfect the picture so let us consider the most accomplished artists that are found among the digger wasps how wasps use caterpillars rather large very slender and long wasps commonly are seen early in the summer on wild carrot and other flowers about decaying fruit or drinking at the sides of puddles indolent and peaceful they are unsuspicious and slow to take offense these are young caterpillar er wasps for which as yet life means little more than feeding on nectar in full enjoyment of the summer sunshine lazy slow moving creatures with an air of complete boredom they could scarcely appear less interest ing or more slothful but while they are spending their time in frivolous enjoyment they are developing strength and energy and acquiring a knowledge of the world energy finally gets the upper hand and the female forsakes the flowers almost completely the first thing she does on becoming energetic is to find a patch of bare stiff soil more or less protected and there dig a burrow ending in an enlarged chamber oval in shape and horizontal her burrow completed and concealed from view she now goes in in search of prey caterpillars found on or near the ground the commonest one prefers green caterpillars much larger than herself when a caterpillar is discovered the wasp knocks it off the leaf onto the ground then watching her chance she seizes it with her mandibles near its head and gives it a prolonged sting between two of the earlier segments the wasp then stings its victim between the other earlier segments and between most or all ail of the hinder segments the stinging is followed by a thorough squeezing of the neck between the mandibles all around this squeezing process lasting for some time the caterpillar is finally brought to the burrow which is opened and the victim placed inside sometimes a single caterpillar is sufficient but usually two or even more are needed if more than one is stored the burrow is always closed after each is placed within it when the store of caterpillars caterpillar s is complete and the egg is is I 1 laid aid t the h e burrow is permanently closed with the grea greatest test care i now N OW comes the most interesting of the whole proceeding the part searches for a little stone stor ie of wasp the right size and shape a and nd just in her jaws with this held firmly fl the earth down very carefully she pats of her to obliterate au an traces work |