194 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



She may be seen in the summer gather- 

 ing mud for her nest from the edges of 

 mud-puddles or ponds with muddy banks, 

 or even from the edges of drains ; in fact, 

 from almost any place where she can 

 obtain it. She is not at all particular about 

 the quality of her mud, all she asks is mud. 



The places she frequents betray her 

 presence by the marks she leaves on the 

 soft earth, for it is spotted all over, where 

 she has chiselled out her little loads. 



She is a very eager worker when she 

 does work, and when she has found a 

 spot to her mind she falls upon it with 

 vigour, and cuts out a little pellet about as 

 large as a sweet-pea seed with her jaws. 



In her earnest devotion to her work she 

 rams her head down under the edge she 

 has loosened, and literally stands on her 

 head while she completes the separation of 

 her pellet. 



It is a curious sight to come upon a 

 mud-bank in the summer and find it lined 



