270 STRANGE DlVEUjyOS. 



the wasps. At night, all the wasps retire into their nest, and in 

 the dead of night the nest may be approached with perfect 

 safety, the last stragglers having come home. Hornets are apt 

 to continue their work through the greater part of the night, 

 and if the moon be up, they are nearly sure to do so. There- 

 fore, the nest-hunters are obliged to detail one of their party as 

 a sentinel, whose sole business it is to watch for the Hornets 

 that come dropping in at intervals, laden with building mate- 

 rials or food, and that would at once dash at the intruders upon 

 their domains. Fortunately, the light from the lanterns seems 

 to blind them, and they can be struck down as they fly to and 

 fro in the glare. 



The nest that has just been mentioned, was rather deeply 

 imbedded in the tree, and cost no less than six hours of con- 

 tinuous labour, the work of excavation having been begun at 

 eight P.M. and the nest extracted at two a.m. on the following 

 morning. 



In the illustration is seen a portion of a lately begun nest, 

 much reduced in size, as may be conjectured from the dimen- 

 sions of the insects that are crawling upon it. As the arrange- 

 ment of the combs is identical with that of the wasp-nest, the 

 interior is not disclosed. Another reason for showing the ex- 

 terior of the nest is, that the reader might see how the Hornet 

 forms the paper-like cover, and the manner in which the insects 

 ^•ran enter at different parts, instead of having but a single en- 

 trance, as is the case with several hymenopterous nests which 

 have been mentioned. 



There is a very pretty, very interesting, and very destructive 

 insect, called by entomologists the Small Ermine Moth 

 ( Yponomeuta padella), which is very plentiful in this country, 

 and by gardeners is thought to be much too plentiful. It can 

 easily be recognised by its long narrow wings, the upper pair of 

 which are soft silvery, or satiny white, spotted with black, and 

 the lower pair dark brown. The expanse of the spread wings 

 is about three quarters of an inch. 



In its winged and pupal states the insect is perfectly 

 harmless, but in its larval condition it becomes a terrible pest 



