A MASON-WASP 49 



suddenly appears, seeking a place for her nest. She is not 

 in the least disturbed by the bustle and movement of the 

 household : they take no notice of her nor she of them. She 

 examines now with her sharp eyes, now with her sensitive 

 antennae the corners of the blackened ceiling, the rafters, 

 the chimney-piece, the sides of the fireplace especially, and 

 even the inside of the flue. Having finished her inspection 

 and duly approved of the site she flies away, soon to return 

 with the pellet of mud which will form the first layer of the 

 building. 



The spot she chooses varies greatly, and often it is a very 

 curious one. The temperature of a furnace appears to suit 

 the young Pelopseus : at least the favourite site is the chimney, 

 on either side of the flue, up to a height of twenty inches or 

 so. This snug shelter has its drawbacks. The smoke gets 

 to the nests, and gives them a glaze of brown or black like 

 that which covers the stonework. They might easily be 

 taken for inequalities in the mortar. This is not a serious 

 matter, provided that the flames do not lick against the nests. 

 That would stew the young Wasps to death in their clay 

 pots. But the mother Wasp seems to understand this : she 

 only places her family in chimneys that are too wide for 

 anything but smoke to reach their sides. 



But in spite of all her caution one danger remains. It 

 sometimes happens, while the Wasp is building, that the 

 approach to the half-built dwelling is barred to her for a 

 time, or even for the whole day, by a curtain of steam or 

 smoke. Washing-days are most risky. From morning till 

 night the housewife keeps the huge cauldron boiling. The 

 smoke from the hearth, the steam from the cauldron and the 

 wash-tub, form a dense mist in front of the fireplace. 



It is told of the Water-Ouzel that, to get back to his nest, 

 he will fly through the cataract under a mill- weir. This Wasp 

 is even more daring : with her pellet of mud in her teeth 

 she crosses the cloud of smoke and disappears behind it, 

 where she becomes invisible, so thick is the screen. An 



G 



