26 THE SOLITARY WASPS. 



bushes. To keep track of her here seemed a hopeless task, but 

 we resolved to do our best and followed anxiously after. The 

 wasp worked her way along about two inches above the ground 

 and very much below the top of the grass, clinging to the blades 

 witli her feet and making surprisingly good progress. "When 

 half way through the raspberry bushes she carried the cater- 

 pillar up on to a branch, deposited it there, and after circling 

 about to take her bearings, flew away, doubtless to visit her nest 

 and to make sure that she was going in the right direction. 



We, ourselves, were very glad of the chance to rest our tired 

 eyes and nerves from the strain of following her. The journey, 

 so far, had occupied nearly an hour, at almost every instant of 

 which it had been exceedingly difficult to keep her in view. 

 But for our united efforts we should certainly have failed. 



While standing guard over the caterpillar we noticed that it 

 moved its head from side to side, showing that the first segment 

 could not have been severely stung as is usually the case in the 

 work of 'urnaria. 



In five minutes the wasp returned and, with the air of feeling 

 that everything was right, picked up her burden and carried it 

 laboriously through the remaining bushes and then through the 

 grassy space that edged the garden, as far as the rail fence which 

 separated this part of the grounds from the woods. Without a 

 pause she climbed on to this fence to the height of the second 

 rail, passed through, and flew down on the further side. Here 

 she paused a moment, perhaps to take breath, and we looked at 

 each other in some dismay. Whither was she leading us? We 

 had now been following her for over an hour and she looked 

 equal to ae much again as she started off once more, rapidly this 

 time, for the grass was short here and the traveling was easy. 

 Soon, however, it became evident that things were going wrong, 

 although we could not determine what was the matter. The 

 caterpillar was laid down while the wasp absented herself for six 

 minutes. She returned and carried it for fifteen minutes and 

 then left it for half an hour. Once more she came back, and 

 carried it for ten minutes, and then she flew away. It was now 



