BIRDS AND INSECTS 117 



safety, a pot of red fire exploded in my face, blind- 

 ing me for the time and terribly burning my whole 

 face. 



As I began to recover, my appearance was such 

 as to make me bashful and to cause me to wish to 

 hide myself from the sight of my friends. With 

 this purpose in view I went to Maine and located 

 there among the farmers. It was while I was 

 resting my shattered nerves and injured eyes that 

 I sought entertainment in watching the black Dig- 

 ger Wasps in the road-way. 



I noticed that they first dug holes in the hard 

 surface of the country roads and then went to seek 

 their prey, which was apparently "cached" in the 

 near neighborhood. 



WHEN DIGGING THE HOLE 



the wasp went down head first and then came out 

 backward, carrying a little pellet of earth in its 

 mouth which it deposited in a heap, very much 

 after the fashion of an ant, near by. 



The game which these black digger wasps cap- 

 tured were grass-hoppers. 



In some way or manner the wasp has the power 

 of benumbing and stupefying its captives without 

 killing them. The insect books say that it is by 

 using the sting, but while I have frequently seen 

 the wasp pounce upon its prey I have never been 

 close enough at the time to say with a certainty 

 that the thin-waisted highwayman uses its sting 

 upon its victim, though I do know that the vie- 



