154 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



Vesp^; so, in spite of her formidable 

 weapon, Madam the Wasp cannot free 

 herself from all enemies. The toad is 

 said to find the wasp an agreeable article 

 of diet, and to swallow the piquant 

 delicacy with relish. This finished gour- 

 met has been seen sitting close to a 

 wasp's nest and snapping up the delicious 

 morsels as they drew near, winking his 

 eyes in evident enjoyment of the fiery 

 repast. 



Boys are the natural foes of the wasps, 

 destroying their nests for the mere fun of 

 it, but the Creoles of Mauritius take the 

 nest for the sake of the larvae, which they 

 roast in the combs and eat. 



The nests are taken by burning out the 

 wasps, and the combs are sold at the 

 bazaar of Port Louis. 



Destroying wasps' nests by burning is 

 a common practice to-day, as it was at the 

 time of Euripides, who thus refers to it in 

 his drama " The Cyclops" : — 



