WASPS, SOCIAL AND SOLITARY 



month, or in the early days of August, that they settle 

 down to the work of making their homes. On the after- 

 noon of July twenty-seventh, after some very lively 

 work in the heat of the day, we walked down to the 



berry garden at half past five 

 o'clock, rather to rest our- 

 selves than with the thought 

 of undertaking anything new; 

 but a wasp - hunter cannot 

 afford to choose his own 

 hours, and we thankfully 



CRABRO STIRPICOLA 



accepted the sending of for- 

 tune when we came upon a stirpicola busy at work in 

 digging out her nest. She had only begun to excavate, 

 and had reached a length just equal to that of her own 

 body. Her manners were an agreeable contrast to those 

 of the wasps that we had been watching through the 

 day. The feverish excitement of their ways seemed 

 quite in keeping with the burning heat of noon, while 

 Crabro's slow and gentle movements harmonized per- 

 fectly with the long shadows of evening. To fully appre- 

 ciate the difference between Pompilus or Ammophila 

 and Crabro it is necessary to see them at work. The 

 one is the embodiment of all that is restless, vying 

 with the humming-birds in swiftness and energy, while 



io6 



