THE WASPS. 299 



Herr Merkel, of Gumbinnen, writes as follows to the 

 author under date of February 8, 1876 : " Six years ago I 

 was tenant of the Railway Tavern, (?) the (?) Ostbahn,* 

 and as I had there much time and leisure, I busied myself 

 with seeking fossils, the railway excavations offering a fine 

 field. As I was one day searching a hollow in the strata with 

 this object, I saw a little grey wasp creeping over it, which 

 was pulling along a caterpillar about an inch in length, 

 holding it firmly with its jaws while it had three legs on 

 either side the caterpillar. The latter appeared to be dead, 

 for it did not move when its bearer let it go and went to a 

 distance of about a man's pace. It was clearly looking for 

 something, for it ran quickly up and down, until at last it 

 stood still before a little hole in the ground, about the size 

 of a lead pencil. It slipped into this hole, came out again, 

 ran to the caterpillar, grasped it as before, pulled it to the 

 hole, put one end over it, then went to the other end and 

 lifted it up so high that the caterpillar fell in. But a piece 

 of it stuck out, and this did not seem to suit the wasp, for it 

 began to pull it out again, using its jaws and both fore-feet 

 with wonderful skill. It laid the caterpillar down near the 

 hole, went in again and brought out several little stones of 

 the size of small peas. It then again let the caterpillar fall 

 into the hole in the way already described. As this time 

 there was none of it to be seen, the wasp went half in itself, 

 emitted a slight hum (an expression of satisfaction. L, B.), 

 came out again and began to scratch round the hole with its 

 hind-legs until it was quite filled up. It then hovered round, 

 examined its work very closely, and as it was to its satis- 

 faction gave another hum and flew away." 



Herr K. B. Zelinka, Railway Inspector of the South 

 Austrian Railway, writes from Graz on December 23, 1875 : 

 " In the year 1868, in the middle of the summer, my duties 

 called me to the station of St. Lorenz (station of the railway 

 from Marburg to Frangenfeste in the Tyrol), in the Drau- 

 thal. The hot July sun made it seem wise to spend the 

 middle of the day in the shade thrown by good luck by a 

 tree in front of the little inn, which stood in a very malarious 

 position on the bank of the Radlbach at its junction with 



* [As the queries are in the original, I leave the German name ; it 

 is apparently some district " Eastern Railway." TR.] 



