Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-18
STUDY OF A BLACK WASP.
One of the Last Articles by the Late "
Hamilton Gibson.


Hamilton Gibson.
Harper's Magazine.
AS took my seat upon the doorstep
started into fight big black wasp, upon
whose doings l had evidently been in
truding. This wasp was about inch in
length. Its wings were pale brown and
its body jet black, with sundry small
yeilowish spots about the thorax. But
it's most conspicuous feature, and one
which would ever fix the identity Of the
creature. was the long, slender, wire-lilSe
waist, occupying a quarter Of the length
Of it's entire 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 moth
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 shoveling it out with her
spider 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 toward the bur-
row and in incessant motion, the abdo-
men on its long wire stem bobbing up and
down at regular intervals, accompanied
by Tipping motion of the wings, the
short fore legs. one or both, appraised
with comical effect.
AS the tunnel was deepened a new
had now reached a depth of inch, only
the extremity of the insects body ap-
pearing, and the two hindermost legs
clinging to surrounding earth for pur-
chase The deep digging was now ac-
companied by a continual buzzing noise,
resembling that produced by bluebottle
fly held captive between ones fingers.
At intervals of about ten or fifteen Sec
onds the wasp would quickly back out OF
the burrow, bringing load of sand,
which it held between the back of the
jaws and Its thorax, sustained at the
sides by the two appraised forelegs.
After moments pause with this bur-
den the insect would make sudden short
darling flight of a foot or more in a quick
circuit, hurting the sand a yard or more
distant from the burrow. At the end of
about fifteen minutes the burrow was
sank to the depth of IL inches, the wasp
entirely disappearing, 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 it's OBJ
liberation by the wasp before my return.
I scratched 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
digger wasps of various species were fa-
miliar, but now noted a feature of wasp
chg luecIlHS W4lCI lnutcu SecilS 10 await
it's chronicler, as 1 find no mention of it
by the wasp historians.
At the exact center of my circle, in
place of a cavity, 1 now found a tiny pile
of stones, supported upon a small stick
and fragment of leaf, which had been
first drawn across the opening.
This was evidently a mere temporary
protection of the burrow, I reasoned.
while the digger had departed In search
of prey, and my surmise was soon proved
to be correct, as 1 observed the wasp.
with bobbing- abdomen and Tipping
wings, zigzagging about the vicinity. :
Presently disappearing beneath a small
plantain leaf, she quickly emerged, draw
ing 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" larva.
which is found on the elm, and with
which CHANGED to be familiar
The victim being now ready for burial,
the wasp sexton proceeded to open the
tomb Seizing one stone after another in
her widely opened jaws. they were scat