96 FABKE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



Italian Crickets are performing their symphony in the bushes, 

 Paul and I chat about insects. He asks questions, eager 

 to learn, and I tell him the little that I know. So delight- 

 ful are our nights of Wasp-hunting that we think little of 

 the loss of sleep or the chance of being stung ! 



The pushing of the reed into the hole is the most delicate 

 matter. Since the direction of the passage is unknown there 

 is some hesitation, and sometimes sentries come flying out 

 of the Wasp's guard-house to attack the operator's hand. 

 To prevent this one of us keeps watch, and drives away the 

 enemy with a handkerchief. And after all, a swelling on one's 

 hand, even if it does smart, is not much to pay for an idea. 



As the petrol streams into the cavern we hear the threaten- 

 ing buzz of the population underground. Then quick ! 

 the door must be closed with the wet clay, and the clod kicked 

 once or twice with the heel to make the stopper solid. There 

 is nothing more to be done for the present. Off we go to bed. 



With a spade and a trowel we are back on the spot at 

 dawn. It is wise to be early, because many Wasps will have 

 been out all night, and will want to get into their home while 

 we are digging. The chill of the morning will make them 

 less fierce. 



In front of the entrance-passage, in which the reed is still 

 sticking, we dig a trench wide enough to allow us free move- 

 ment. Then the side of this ditch is carefully cut away, slice 

 after slice, until, at a depth of about twenty inches, the Wasp's 

 nest is revealed, uninjured, slung from the roof of a spacious 

 cavity. 



It is indeed a superb achievement, as large as a fair-sized 

 pumpkin. It hangs free on every side except at the top, 

 where various roots, mostly of couch-grass, penetrate the 

 thickness of the wall and fasten the nest firmly. Its shape 

 is round wherever the ground has been soft, and of the same 

 consistency all through. In stony soil, where the Wasps 

 meet with obstacles in their digging, the sphere becomes more 

 or less misshapen. 



