" SMILING MORN ' 77 



of bare ground as a fish the course of a shallow stream, 

 buzzing ominously as if in warning of some possible 

 mischance. They are friends, and will in a moment 

 swerve, and boom back to the shafts they have exca- 

 vated in sand as depositaries for their eggs, and into 

 which they will pack living caterpillars as fresh food 

 for their young. They dig with such deftness and 

 vigour that the sand is expelled in a continuous jet. 

 When the mouth of the shaft, round to exactness, is 

 lumbered with soil, the insect emerges backward and 

 shovels away dog-like with its forelegs. Then it dis- 

 appears again, until the sand-jet has made another 

 encumbering heap. 



These alert and furiously resentful insects are endowed 

 with resourcefulness and " intelligence " in keeping with 

 their physical activities. One had foraged a caterpillar 

 in bulk and weight beyond its flight strength, and was, 

 therefore, compelled to haul it along the toilful earth. 

 On the wing the wasp finds its home unhesitatingly. 

 On the unfamiliar ground it lost its bearings, and, 

 moreover, the lumbering caterpillar had to be tugged 

 through a bewildering forest of grass stems, among which 

 it went astray. During a pause the wasp surveyed the 

 scene, and, locating the shaft, after stupendous exertions 

 deposited its prey conveniently thereto, to find itself 

 confronted with a problem, since the diameter of the 

 caterpillar exceeded that of the shaft. It seemed to 

 reflect for a few moments, and then with feverish haste 

 enlarged the shaft. Another difficulty had then to be 

 overcome. Was it possible to force such a bulky and 

 unwieldy body head first down the habitual way ? 

 The insect came to a rapid decision in the negative. 

 Backing into the shaft, it seized the caterpillar by the 

 head and drew it down, presently emerging, and how it 

 managed to squeeze past so tight a plug is another of 



