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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
10
The
caterpillars
were
all
of
the
same
kind,
though
varying
in
size,
their
length
being
from
one-half
to
three-quarters
of
an
inch.
To
all
appearances
they
were
dead,
but
more
careful
observation
revealed
signs
of
slight
vitality.
Recognizing
the
species
as
one
which
I
had
long
known,
from
its
larva
to
its
moth,
it
was
not
difficult
to
understand
how
my
brushes
might
thus
have
been
expeditiously
packed
with
them.
Not
far
from
my
studio
door
is
a
small
thicket
of
wild
rose,
which
should
alone
be
sufficient
to
account
for
all
those
victimized
caterpillars.
This
species
is
a
regular
dependent
on
the
rose,
dwelling
within
its
cocoon-like
canopy
of
leaves,
which
are
drawn
together
with
a
few
silken
webs,
and
in
which
it
is
commonly
concealed
by
day.
A
little
persuasion
upon
either
end
of
its
leafy
case,
however,
soon
brings
the
little
tenant
to
view
as
he
wriggles
out,
backward
or
forward,
as
the
case
may
be,
and
in
a
twinkling,
spider-like,
hangs
suspended
by
a
web,
which
never
fails
him
even
in
the
most
sudden
emergency.
I
can
readily
fancy
the
tiny
hornet
making
a
commotion
at
one
end
of
this
leafy
domicile
and
the
next
instant
catching
the
evicted
caterpillar
"on
a
fly"
at
the
other.
Grasping
her
prey
with
her
legs
and
jaws,
in
another
moment
the
wriggling
body
is
passive
in
her
grasp,
subdued
by
the
potent
anaesthetic
of
her
sting--a
hypodermic
injection
which
instantly
produces
the
semblance
of
death
in
its
insect
victim,
reducing
all
the
vital
functions
to
the
point
of
dissolution,
and
then
holds
them
suspended--literally
prolongs
life,
it
would
sometimes
seem,
even
beyond
its
normal
duration--by
a
process
which
I
might
call
ductile
equation.
This
chemical
resource
is
common
to
all
the
hornets,
whether
their
victims
be
grasshoppers,
spiders,
cicadae,
or
caterpillars.
In
a
condition
of
helpless
stupor
they
are
lugged
off
to
the
respective
dens
provided
for
them,
and
then,
hermetically
sealed
on
storage,
are
preserved
as
fresh
living
food
for
the
young
hornet
larva,
which
is
left
in
charge
of
them,
and
has
a
place
waiting
for
them
all.
The
developments
within
my
brush-handles
may
serve
as
a
commentary
on
the
ways
and
transformations
of
the
average
hornet.
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