Will the larva, now that it possesses a modicum of strength, force itself imprudently into this heap? Far from it. The victuals are consumed in due order, from the bottommost to the topmost. The larva drags towards it, to a little distance, into the dining-room, the first ring that offers, devours it without danger of being inconvenienced by the others and thus, layer by layer, consumes the batch of two dozen, always in complete security. Let us retrace our steps and end with a brief summary. The large number of grubs provided for a single cell and their very incomplete paralysis jeopardize the security of the Wasp’s egg and of her new-born larva. How is the danger to be averted? This is the problem; and it has several solutions. The Eumenes, with her sheath, which enables the larva to climb back to the ceiling, gives us one; the Odynerus, in her turn, gives us hers, a solution no less ingenious and much more complicated. The egg and also the newly-hatched larva have to be saved from the danger of contact with the game. A suspension-thread solves the difficulty. Up to this point, that is the method adopted by the Eumenes; but soon the young larva, having eaten its first grub, drops off the thread that gave it a support whereby to shrink out of harm’s way. A sequence of conditions now begins, all directed towards its welfare. Prudence demands that the very young larva shall first attack the most inoffensive of the grubs, that is those most nearly deadened by abstinence, in short, the grubs first placed in the cell; it demands, moreover, that the consumption of these grubs shall proceed from the oldest specimens to the most recent, so that the larva may have fresh game to the end. With this object, a curious exception is made to the general rule: the egg is laid before the victualling is commenced. It is laid at the back of the cell; in this way, the stacked provisions will present themselves to the larva in due order of date. That is not enough: it is important that the grubs shall be unable, in moving, to alter their respective positions. This circumstance is provided for: the store-room is a narrow cylinder in which change of place is difficult. Even that is not sufficient: the larva must have room enough to move about at ease. The condition is fulfilled: at the back, the cell forms a comparatively spacious dining-room: Is that all? Not yet. The dining-room must not be encumbered like the rest of the cell. The matter has been seen to: the first course consists of a small number of specimens. Have we done? By no means. It is not of any use to have a narrow cylinder for the larder: if the grubs straighten out, they will slip lengthwise and disturb the nurseling in the back-room. This has been remedied: the game selected is a larva which deliberately rolls itself into a bracelet and maintains its position by its own tendency to unbend.