98 



sun shines upon it. The wings are very smooth 

 and silky. Their flight is quick and irregular making 

 a slight buzzing sound. The chief point of interest 

 about these insects is their mode of constructing their 

 nest, it being compasei of pure mud which they have 

 kneaded with their jaws at the edge of some ditch or 

 pond and then carried mouthful at a time to the place 

 where they make their residence. The nest is divided 

 into two or three long cells with hard mud partitions. 

 In the bottom of each cell an egg is deposited: then the 

 remainder of the cavity is filled with the bodies of dead 

 spiders which the old wasp catches and kills with great 

 dexterity. It is truly amusing to watch them go to a 

 spider's web and shake it with their feet, and when the 

 victim comes out expecting to find some prey entangled 

 in its trap, it is seized by the wasp and borne away 

 to the nest. When the young wasp has eaten all the 

 food thus provided it is almost if not quite able to 

 shift for itself. They will renew the nest several times 

 in one place, if taken away or destroyed, they being 

 good masons. 



FLIES. 



Probably every one knows what flies are, but the 

 most common of this tribe is the house fly, and it is 

 often spoken of as though there might be no other 

 kind. There are, however, numerous other species. 

 The Hessian Fly, for instance, which is so destructive 

 to the wheat crop, makes great devastation in fields 

 when they come in numbers. They are natives of 

 Europe, and are supposed to have been carried over to 



