The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-08-21
How Digger. Wasps Make their Homes.

July lau COu1e aGa1ut duu u
with 1t such warm, sultry days that 1t
almost seemed as if no living creature
could stir abroad. Nevertheless, there
was D wonderful, deal going on in our
garden. Thtotigh the ait and over the
flower beds hastened hundreds of little
people. Some lived in the trees and
bushes, others In the ground, and all
we're hard at work,
One morning, especially, there seemed
to be something unusual going on; the
buzzing and humming wa fairly deafen-
ing.
Whirrar.t whirr.r.rl What was that
great creature that darted past my face ?
And here came another, and another;
Why, the garden was full Of them
Big brown-and-yellow wasps these
strangers were, and all in a most desper-
ate hurry. Scores of them were already
hard at work digging away in ths firmly
backed sand of the path.
As these newcomers seemed to care
very little who watched them at their
work, 1 sat down on an upturned flower
pot in the shade of o friendly lilac, de-
termined to make their acquaintance:
Hardly had I settled myself before
one of the wasps approached. She
seemed to be searching for something,
for she few rapidly back and forth, now
alighting for o moment-now darting
away again. At last she dropped upon
the rround close to the and began to
bite the earth with her strong jaws.
When quite q little heap lay before her
she pushed it to one side with her hind
feet aid theh returned to her digging:
In five minutes she had an opening big
enough to get into; every time she ap-
peared she backed up out of it pushing
a huge load of sand as big as herself be-
hind her. Soon all around the hole was
a huge bank Of earth, and she found it
necessary to make a path cross it, and
push her loads over that. Two hours
hard work, and the house was finished.
It was very simply planned, and had
only one room down at the end of q
long, narrow passage. But simple as it
was, this little creature had done more
work in the two hours than q man could
do in o day. That is, of course, taking
her size into consideration. And she
did not aver now stop to rest. Not
she ! With one last look into the house,
to make sure she was leaving all as it
should be, she Aewaway. In q moment
her strong wings had taken her quite
out of sight, but it was not long before
she re-appeared. Back and forth she
h~astened, at one moment flying through
the grape-arbor, at the next wheeling
above the cabbage-bed. All this time
the object of her search, q fat young
locust, was quietly sitting on a gate.
post, quite forgetting, as locusts some.
times will, that he had an enemy in the
world.
A moment later and the wasp's sharp
eyes had found him out; and then,
quick as lightning, she darted down
upon him, and pierced him with her
sting. When the locust lay perfectly
still, the wasp seized him and flew of.
Arrived at her hole, she tumbled him
head foremost in at the door, expecting
him, OF course, to fall quite to the bot
tom. But her calculations had been
slightly at fault; the locust was too fat
to 20 in, and there he stuck with his
head and shoulders in the hole and his
body in the air. Here was a dilemma.
But my wasp friend was evidently not
one to be overcome by difficulties of
this sort. She few off again, and this
time returned with two other wasps;
they crowded round the hole, and began
digging away the earth which pressed
close about the locust. In a short time
they seemed satisfied, for they stood up
and pushed at the object of their tolls.
Slowly he slid down out Of sight, and
she who had brought him hurried after.
SIZE laid nh egg close to him in her
house; then, hurrying up, began to
carry back the earth she had before
taken out, and in a short time the door
was securely closed. Then she scraped
away, and patted down all the loose
earth, till she had made it quite impossi.
BILE for any evil-minded creature to find
any traces of her home.
The wasp knew very well that her
egg would soon hatch out; that the
little white grub, her chick, would at
once begin to feed upon the locust,
which would supply food till the young
one was ull-grown.-&. Nicholas.