274 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



generally careful to close the entrance with 

 little pellets of earth, which of course she 

 has to remove every time she enters. 

 Some species of Ammophila store away 

 several small caterpillars in one nest, and 

 at least some of them always temporarily 

 close the nest before leaving it. Individual 

 wasps diflfer in their manner of making 

 and closing the nest, some being very par- 

 ticular to see that all is well done, and 

 others extremely careless, doing their work 

 so badly that the contents of the nest are 

 scarcely covered from sight. 



" Of two wasps that we saw close their 

 nests on the same day, one wedged two 

 or three pellets into the top of the 

 hole, kicked in a little dust, and then 

 smoothed the surface over, finishing it all 

 within five minutes. This one seemed 

 possessed by a spirit of hurry and bustle, 

 and did not believe in spending time on 

 non-essentials. The other, on the contrary, 

 was an artist, an idealist. She worked for 



