bee to begin here and to end there? Once again we must
be satisfied with the reply that does not answer: "It is one of the
mysteries of the hive." Huber has tried to explain it by saying that
at certain intervals, by the pressure of their feet or their teeth,
they produce a slight projection of the wax on the other side of the
comb, or that they can determine the thickness of the block of wax by
its flexibility, its elasticity, or some other physical property which
it may possess; or, again, that their antennae are able to serve as
compasses in enabling them to examine what is going on in the darkness
of the other side; or, last of all, he suggests that all the cells
mathematically derive their shape and dimensions from those of the
first row, which is built without the need of further concert on the
part of the workers. But one can easily see that these explanations
are not sufficient; the first are guesses which cannot be verified;
the others simply change but do not remove the mystery. But if it is
good to change a mystery as often as possible, it is never good to
flatter one's self that to change it means to remove it!

WASPS

(FROM THE NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA.)

BY THOMAS G. BELT, F.G.S.

[Illustration]

I one day saw a small black and yellow banded wasp hunting for
spiders; it approached a web where a spider was stationed in the
centre, made a dart towards it--apparently a feint to frighten the
spider clear of its web; at any rate it had that effect, for it fell
to the ground, and was immediately seized by the wasp, who stung it,
then ran quickly backwards, dragging the spider after it, up a branch
reaching to the ground until it got high enough, when it flew heavily
off with it. It was so small, and the spider so heavy, that it
probably could not have raised it from the ground by flight. All over
the world there are wasps that store their nests with the bodies of
spiders for their young to feed on. In Australia, I often witnessed a
wasp combating with a large flat spider that is found on the bark of
trees. It would fall to the ground, and lie on its back, so as to be
able to grapple with its opponent; but the wasp was always the victor
in the encounters I saw, although it was not always allowed to carry
off its prey in peace. One day, sitting on the sandbanks on the coast
of Hobson's Bay, I saw one dragging along a large spider. Three or
four inches above it hovered two minute flies, keeping a littl