Wasps and Ants 41 



Always, when the knot disentangled itself, the 

 fighters flew ofF in the worst possible temper, 

 ready to sting anything that came in their way. 

 Except when they fell thus, they rarely flew 

 in and out through the piazza. They chose 

 instead to light upon the weather-boarded 

 gable, and crawl through the big crack be- 

 tween the weatherboards and the roof. Light 

 or laden it made no difference — they came 

 through the cracks with balls of wood-pulp in 

 their jaws, crawled two or three inches, spread 

 their wings, balanced themselves, then flew 

 -buzzing to the nest. 



Joe wondered why the wasps waited until 

 the dew was oflF before setting to work on 

 weathered wood, gathering stuff for their 

 nests; the wood was much softer with the 

 dew on it. He decided that the wasps might ' 

 find the damp fibers tough, and so prefer them 

 dry and brittle. Every Sunday he wished for 

 a microscope so he might look close at their 

 wonderful fore feet, which spread out the 

 pulp-balls into such beautifully smooth cell- 

 paper. He thought further that there must be 

 sluggards among them. Watching them, he 

 thought he had seen the beginning of more 

 than one quarrel, when a swift worker buzzed 

 and fumed impatiently, waiting laden, for a 

 blunderer to get out of its way. Some cells 

 too, were better-shaped and smoother than 



