WILDWOOD WAYS 



Flies were plentiful and, knowing how 

 many hornets there are in a nest, I ex- 

 pected at first that he would bring com- 

 panions and perhaps overwhelm my hos- 

 pitality with mere numbers, but he did 

 nothing of the kind. I have an idea that 

 he was detailed to the fly catching work 

 just as other workers were busy gather- 

 ing nectar and honey dew for the young 

 and others still were nest and comb 

 building. Later in the summer another 

 did come, but I am convinced that he hap- 

 pened on the other's game preserve by 

 accident and was not invited. The two 

 between them must have captured thou- 

 sands of flies and carried them off alive 

 to their nest. 



Thus their paper fort, hung from the 

 twigs of a blueberry bush, had by Sep- 

 tember grown to the dimensions of a 

 water-bucket and contained a prodigious 

 34 



