134 THE NATURALIST IX NICARAGUA. [Ch. VIII. 



branch reaching to the ground until it got high enough, 

 when it flew heavily off with it. It was so small, and 

 the spider so heavy, that it prohahly could not have 

 raised it from the ground "by flight. All over the world 

 there are wasps that store their nests with the bodies of 

 spiders for their young to feed on. In Australia, I often 

 witnessed a wasp combating with a large flat spider that 

 is found on the bark of trees. It would fall to the 

 ground, and lie on its back, so as to be able to grapple 

 with its opponent ; but the wasp was always the victor in 

 the encounters I saw, although it was not always allowed 

 to carry its prey off in peace. One day, sitting on the sand- 

 banks on the coast of Hobson's Bay, I saw one dragging 

 along a large spider. Three or four inches above it 

 hovered two minute flies, keeping a little behind, and 

 advancing with it. The wasp seemed much disturbed 

 by the presence of the tiny flies, and twice left its prey 

 to fly up towards them, but they darted away immedi- 

 ately. As soon as the wasp returned to the spider, there 

 they were hovering over and following it again. At last, 

 unable to drive away its small tormentors, the wasp 

 reached its burrow and took down the spider, and the 

 two flies stationed themselves one on each side the 

 entrance, and would, doubtless, when the wasp went 

 away to seek another victim, descend and lay their own 

 eggs in the nest. 



The variety of wasps, as of all other insects, was very 

 great around Santo Domingo. Many made papery nests, 

 hanging from the undersides of large leaves. Others 

 hung their open cells underneath verandahs and eaves of 

 houses. One large black one was particularly abundant 

 about houses, and many people got stung by them. 



