276 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



fully to the spot, and placed it directly 

 over the nest." 



One of the most remarkable perform- 

 ances ever recorded of a wasp, is described 

 by the same observers, thus, — 



" Just here must be told the story of 

 one little w^asp whose individuality stands 

 out in our minds more distinctly than that 

 of any others. We remember her as the 

 most fastidious and perfect little worker of 

 the whole season, so nice was she in her 

 adaptation of means to ends, so busy and 

 contented in her labour of love, and so 

 pretty in her pride over her completed 

 work. In filling up her nest she put her 

 head down into it, and bit away the loose 

 earth from the sides, letting it fall to the 

 bottom of the burrow, and then, after a 

 quantity had accumulated, jammed it down 

 with her head. Earth was then brought 

 from the outside and pressed in, and then 

 more was bitten from the sides. When, at 

 last, the filling was level with the ground. 



