SOLITARY BEES AND WASPS. 189 



mud, and when the owner, all unsuspectingly, puts 

 in the cartridge and attempts to fire the gun, it 

 will probably explode, and possibly cause the 

 death of the sportsman. Many a lock is rendered 

 useless, and all kind of domestic troubles are 

 caused by this persevering insect. 



I may here say a word about the wasps I have 

 had to deal with in Switzerland. I used often to 

 find their pretty little nests, about the size of 

 a small rose, made of a grey papery material, 

 fixed on various objects, frequently on stones by 

 the roadside, on tree-branches, or on the walls of 

 houses and churches. 



I brought one home and placed it in a sunny 

 window of the hotel we were staying at. I had 

 not noticed that the cells were full of young grubs, 

 and one morning we came down to find the room 

 full of lively young wasps which had hatched out 

 of my nest, and we had to set to work and clear 

 them away before we could eat our breakfast in 

 peace. A friend has kindly lent me a somewhat 

 similar nest she found on some heather in England. 



I have now spoken of a few of our most 

 common Solitary bees and wasps. There are 



