The Mason-Wasps 



perfect insect, for the exit-doors are still 

 closed with their well-fitting plugs. It is at 

 an abnormal place, in the side, that the 

 yawning breach occurs. The escaping in- 

 sect would never use such violence in break- 

 ing through. They are certainly recent 

 nests, nests of the previous summer. 



Their dilapidation is due to their unpro- 

 tected position. The rain penetrates into 

 the stone-heaps; even under the shelter of a 

 flagstone the air is saturated with damp. 

 If a little snow falls, the mischief is still 

 worse. In this way, the wretched nests 

 crumble and fall to pieces, leaving the 

 cocoons partly exposed. Unprotected by 

 their earthen sheath, the larva? have become 

 the prey of the brigandage that mows 

 down the weak. Some Field-mouse passing 

 by has perhaps feasted on those tender mor- 

 sels. 



At the sight of these ruins a suspicion oc- 

 curs to me. Is the primitive art of the 

 Pelopaeus really practicable in my region? 

 iWhen nesting in stone-heaps, does the 

 tiny potter find the security needed for her 

 family, especially during the winter? It is 

 very doubtful. The extreme rarity of the 

 nests in such conditions is evidence of the 

 mother's aversion for these sites; and the 

 152 



