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The dish served on the Bembeces' table for the first time since Bembeces came into the world is accepted without any repugnance and consumed with every mark of satisfaction. I will here set down the detailed diary of one of my guests; that of the others would only be a repetition, save for a few variations. The larva of the Bembex, as I extract it from its burrow, is about half-developed.
Among such larvæ I have experimented with those provided by chance those of various Bembeces, fed on Diptera; those of the Palaris, whose diet consists of a large variety of Hymenoptera; those of the Tachytus, provided with young crickets; those of the Odynerus, fed upon larvæ of the Chrysomela; those of the sand-dwelling Cerceris, endowed with a hecatomb of weevils.
At the beginning, a conical bag is woven of pure white silk; you might take it for the initial eel-trap of the Bembeces, only this bag has two openings, a very wide one in front and another, very narrow one at the side. Through the front opening the Stizus provides itself with sand as and when it spends this material on encrusting the interior.
She needs the method of the Bembex, whose larva receives the necessary nourishment at intervals, as it grows larger. The facts confirm this deduction. Just now I described as tedious my watches near the colonies of the Philanthi. They were tedious in fact, even more so perhaps than those which the Bembeces used to inflict upon me in the old days.
The Tachytes, the Bembeces, the Stizi, the Palari and other burrowers build composite cocoons, hard as fruit-stones, formed of an encrustation of sand in a network of silk. We are already acquainted with the work of the Bembex.
This is the first partial ration; the others will come as and when the grub grows larger. My anticipations are thus confirmed: following the example of the Bembeces, the Fly-killers, the Philanthus, the Bee-killer, lays her egg on the first piece warehoused and at intervals adds to her nurselings' repast. The problem of the dead game is solved.
Among these I have tested such as chance threw in my way: those of various Bembeces, all fed on Flies, those of the Palarus, whose bill of fare consists of a very large assortment of Hymenoptera; those of the Tarsal Tachytes, supplied with young Locusts; those of the Nest-building Odynerus, furnished with Chrysomela-grubs; those of the Sand Cerceris, endowed with a pinch of Weevils.
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