JULY 145 



out by means of her strongly spiked hind 

 legs. A little watching will show what it 

 all means. What at first appears to be a 

 tremendous insect comes sailing heavily 

 down to the hole. When it alights the size 

 is explained. It is a big sphex wasp carry- 

 ing, with considerable effort, a still bigger 

 locust. You will probably want to walk 

 about quite unobtrusively, if you care to 

 examine this matter closely, for the wasp 

 has altogether the finest sting it has ever 

 been my good fortune to see thrust out. It 

 is curved like a scimitar, fully half an 

 inch long, and exquisitely pointed. I do 

 not know how badly its sting might hurt, 

 but from the promptness with which it 

 paralyzes so large an insect as its prey is, I 

 should prefer omitting that piece of prac- 

 tical knowledge. The insect authorities 

 generally say that the sphex, when once 

 she comes to earth, must laboriously climb 

 to some high place, dragging her victim with 

 her, before she can gain sufficient impetus 

 to fly away with so great a weight. I have 

 repeatedly seen this wasp, when disturbed, 

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