The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-02
AN INSECT TRAGEDY.
How a Wasp Sexton Builds "A Tomb
and Buries Her Victim.
W. H. Gibson, in Harper's Magazine.

W. H. Gibson, in Harper's Magazine
As took my seat upon the doorstep
started into flight big black wasp. upon
whose doings l had evidently been liz
truding. This wasp was about an inch in
length Its wings were pale brown ana
its body jet-black, with sundry small yell
lowish spots about the thorax. But its
most conspicuous feature, and one which
would ever fix the identity of the creature
was the long, slender, wire-like waist, oc,
cupying quarter of the length of it's en-
tire body.
In moment or two the wasp had re-
turned and stood at the mouth of the
shallow pit. Eyeing me intently for a
space, and satisfied that there was notn-
ing to fear, she diVed into the hollow and
began to eXcavate, turning round and
round as she gnawed the earth at the
bottom, and shovelling it out with her
spiked legs Now and then she would
back out of the burrOw to reconnoiter
and her alert attitude at such times was
very amusing-her antennae dropping to-
ward the burrow and in incessant motion;
the abdomen on its cong wire stem bop
bling up and down at regular intervals,
accompanied by Tipping motion of the
wings the short fore legs, one or botn,
appraised with comical effect
AS the tunnel was deepened a new
method of excavation was employed. 1t
has now reached a depth of an inch, only
the extremity of the insects body appear
ing and the two hindermost legs clinging
to surrounding edrtn IOr purchase. Inc
deep digging is now accompanied by
continual buzzing noise, resem bling that
produced by a bluebottle fly held captive
between ones fingers. At intervals of
about ten or fifteen seconds the wasp
would quickly back out of the burroW,
bringing a load of sand, which it held be-
tween the back of the jaws and its tho
rax, sustained at the sides by the two up
raised fore legs. After moments pause
with this burden, the insect would make
a sudden short darling flight of foot or
more in a quick circuit, hurting the sand
q yard or more distant from the burroW
At the end of about fifteen minutes the
burroW was sunk to the depth of an inch
and half, the wasp entirely disappear
ing, and indicated only by the continuous
buzzing.
At this time, the luncheon hour having
arrived / was obliged to pause in my in
vestigations, and, in order to be able to
locate the burrow in the event of its OBJ
liberation by the wasp before my return,
/ scratched a circle in the hard dirt, the
hole being at its exact center.
Upon my return an hour later, I was
met with a surprise The ways of the dig
ger-Wasps of various species were famil-
lar, but l now noted feature of wasp-en-
gineering which indeed seems to await its
chronicler, as I find no mention of it by
the wasp historians.
At the exact center of my circle, in place
of d cavity, I now found a tiny pile of
stones supported upon a. small stick and
drawn across the opening.
This was evidently a mere temporary
protection of the burrow, 1 reasoned
while the digger had departed in search of
prey, and my surmise was soon proved to
be correct, as / observed the wasp, with
bobbing abdomen and Tipping wings, zig
tagging about the vicinity. Presently dis
appearing beneath small plantain leaf,
she quickly emerged, drawing behind her
not a spider, but a big green caterpillar,
nearly double her own length, and as
large around as a slate-pencil-a peculiar
pungent, waspy-scented species of "puss-
moth" larYa, which, is found on the elm
and with which l CHANGED to be familiar.
The victim being now ready for burial,
the wasp sexton proceeded to open the
tomb Selling one stone after another
In her widely opened jaws, they were scat
tered right and left, when, with apparent
ease and prompt despatch, the listless lar
va was drawn toward the burrow, into
whose depths he soon disappeared. Then.
after a short and suggestive interval, fol-
lowed the emergence Of the wasp, and the
prompt filling in of the requisite earth to
level the cavity, much as already de-