8 The Hunting IVasps 



the nests, and consequently the provisions, are 

 not found at less than a foot below the surface. 

 It becomes necessary, therefore, lest they should 

 be damaged, to begin by inserting a grass- 

 stalk, serving as a landmark and a guide, into 

 the Cerceris' gallery and next to invest the 

 place with a square of trenches, some seven or 

 eight inches from the orifice or the landmark. 

 The sapping must be done with a garden-spade, 

 so that the central clod can be completely de- 

 tached on every side and raised in one piece, 

 which we turn over on the ground and then 

 break up carefully. This was the method that 

 answered with me. 



* You would have shared our enthusiasm, 

 my friend, at the sight of the beautiful speci- 

 mens of Buprestes which this original method 

 of treasure-hunting disclosed, one after the 

 other, to our eager gaze. You should have 

 heard our exclamations each time that the 

 mine was turned upside down and new glories 

 stood revealed, rendered more brilliant still by 

 the blazing sun ; or when we discovered, here, 

 larvae of all ages fastened to their prey, there, 

 the cocoons of those larvae all encrusted with 

 copper, bronze, and emerald. I who had been 

 studying insects at close quarters for three or 

 four decades — alas ! — had never witnessed such 

 a lovely sight nor enjoyed so great a treat. It 



