A WORD ABOUT WASPS. 265 
‘A Word about Wasps. By Jamms Camppeny, O.M. 
[Read 30th April, 1895.] 
Tue Wasp is usually looked upon as an enemy, and inducements 
are often offered for its destruction. From time to time a thrust 
is had at it through the press, and many a grudge is aired against 
the creature’s natural means of defence. We never live long 
without fresh incidents. At Ayr, last summer, a woman who 
licked the jelly off a knife with which she had killed a wasp paid 
the penalty by severe suffering for some days. About four years 
ago I had special attention from a nest of wasps myself» Taking 
a near cut, I slid down a bank over an unobserved “ byke,” and 
it might be easier to describe than it was to experience the 
connection between myself and the wasps for the next few 
moments. After sufficient interval, one can take a philosophical 
' view of his defeat; and if I at that time met the race in war, 
I rejoice to say that I have frequently since been with them in 
peace. 
Having occasion to sit much in the open air in summer, I have 
frequent opportunities of watching the habits of wasps, and I find 
that, while their behaviour depends much on one’s treatment of 
them, their familiarity varies according to the place where they 
are found. Near houses or by roadsides an insect readily visits 
one, cautiously at first, but, when it is not molested, it soon 
gathers confidence, and shows itself willing to accept kindness. 
Its experience and memory help it to success. The first day it is 
some time in finding its way to the lunch-bag, but next day it 
knows the person and it knows the bag, and wasps may be 
clustering on the bag before there is time to undo the strap. Sir 
John Lubbock has some interesting notes on a tame wasp, but all 
wasps near human dwellings are in a way tame, if they are allowed 
to be so. For our own comfort and that of the wasps, we hung 
on the hedge a paper bag with a small bit of bacon and butter and 
a piece of bread well smeared with jelly. On exposure to the air, 
the jelly became mildly fermented, and this seemed to please the 
wasps all the better. When they had struggled over it and gorged 
themselves, they began to rest, and calmly survey their entertainer, 
