

NOTES BY THE WAY 121 



paralyzing the victim and making it incapable of 

 motion, though life remains for some time. 



My friend Van, who watched the hornets in my 

 absence, saw a fierce battle one day over the right 

 of possession of one of the dens. An angry, hum- 

 ming sound was heard to proceed from one of the 

 holes; gradually it approached the surface, until 

 the hornets emerged locked in each other's embrace, 

 and rolled down the little embankment, where the 

 combat was continued. Finally one released his 

 hold and took up his position in the mouth of his 

 den (of course I should say she and her, as these 

 were the queen hornets), where she seemed to chal- 

 lenge her antagonist to come on. The other one 

 manoeuvred about a while, but could not draw her 

 enemy out of her stronghold; then she clambered 

 up the bank and began to bite and tear off bits of 

 grass, and to loosen gravel-stones and earth, and roll 

 them down into the mouth of the disputed passage. 

 This caused the besieged hornet to withdraw farther 

 into her hole, when the other came down and thrust 

 in her head, but hesitated to enter. After more 

 manoeuvring, the aggressor withdrew, and began to 

 bore a hole about a foot from the one she had tried 

 to possess herself of by force. 



Besides the cicada, the sand hornet captures 

 grasshoppers and other large insects. I have never 

 met with it before the present summer (1879), but 

 this year I have heard of its appearance at several 

 points along the Hudson. 



