E. G. Peckham

“ Ants of course abound, and the gentle little solitary bees, with their loads of pollen, may be seen everywhere, seeming to melt into the ground, so quickly and quietly do they open their burrows. Here Oxybelus plys her trade of fly-catching, and graceful Ammophila dances with her shadow over the sunny ground, while Cerceris rests in her doorway with an air of leisurely superiority to the vulgar cares of life; and here, one day in early July, a sudden access of energy seemed to strike Aphilanthops frigidus, a wasp which we had found a year before taking in the wingless queens of ants. ”

“ The entrance tunnel runs in obliquely for from three to five inches below the surface of the ground, and ends in a pocket.
We grow accustomed to marvels, and from our familiarity with other wasps we take as a matter of course the unerring accuracy with which Bembex swoops down upon the exact spot at which the entrance to her nest is hidden. And yet how strange a power it is! There is not the least sign to help her—not a stone, not a blade of grass is to be seen on the field. ”

“ Ah! the power that has led her is not a blind, mechanically perfect instinct, for she has traveled a little too far. She must go back one row into the open space that she has already crossed, although not just at this point. Nothing like a nest is visible to us; the surface of the ground looks all alike, and it is with exclamations of wonder that we see our little guide lift two pellets of earth which have served as a covering to a small opening running down into the ground. ”

“ Forty feet away, on the eastern side of the island, was a steep declivity, and here, in the soft crumbly soil, was a great Halictus settlement. No prettier sight can be imagined than is presented by this colony on every sunny summer day. The whole bank is riddled with nests, and at the entrance of each stands a female bee, her tiny head exactly filling the opening. The bees are constantly arriving, laden with pollen, whereupon the sentinels politely back inward to make way for them. Into this scene of contented industry descends the ravaging Philanthus, taking guards and workers alike. ”

“ She is still comprehensible when, at the close of day, she and her sisters quarrel for the favorite sleeping-places among the carvings of the porch pillars; but we cannot follow her mental processes when, at the moment of building, she surrenders herself to the mysterious sway of instinct, doing she knows not what, but doing it joyously, and preserving through it all the precious possession of her own individuality. Every aspect speaks of pleasure as these wasps gather at well or spring, and, singing contentedly, stand on their heads to gather their loads of mud. ”

“ That she should have come hunting so soon seemed almost too good to be true, but she certainly was not doing anything else. She did not dig, nor feed on the clover, nor circle about as though looking for her nest, but began to clean and brush herself assiduously. Then she climbed a tall grass blade, and swinging at the top went through some curious gymnastic performances. Then she brushed herself again, drawing her third legs over the sides of her abdomen. ”

“ Then they spend from forty minutes to an hour in taking a survey, the least movement on the part of a watcher causing them to drop out of sight as if the earth had given way beneath them. Sometimes there is a little way-station an inch or two within the tunnel, and the wasp falls back only to this point, and here she may be seen, if one peeps in cautiously, either quietly awaiting the retreat of the intruder, or, perhaps, performing her toilet in a leisurely and elegant manner. ”

“ Fabre gives a most entertaining account of a French species of Pelopæus which nests in the wide-mouthed chimneys of the peasant. Undisturbed by the steam of washing day or the bustle of dinner-getting, the wasp enters the open door, passes unconcerned among the human inhabitants, and makes her cells against the smoky bricks, out of reach of the flames. This species kills her prey at the moment of capture, by which act she falls in the estimation of Fabre, who respects a wasp in proportion to the nicety with which she delivers her sting. ”

“ On a bright morning in the middle of August we stationed ourselves by the smoke-house at eight o’clock, and half an hour later an Agenia began to bring lumps of earth, working out of sight under the door frame. She kept at it steadily, spending three or four minutes in getting a load and one or two in placing it. At twelve o’clock, her nest being ready, she flew away to hunt for a spider. So long as a wasp comes and goes at frequent intervals time slips away rapidly, but to keep one’s attention unflagging through hours of watching is weariness to the flesh. ”

“ THIS wasp (Sphex ichneumonea Linn.) is one of our most beautiful species, its great size and its brilliant color, as it flies among the flowers, serving to make it well known to all observers of nature. During the later part of July, all through August, and even in the early days of September it is commonly found at work making or storing its burrow. It is rare in our garden, however, and we thought ourselves fortunate in being able to keep track of one individual from the making to the closing of the nest. Although large and powerful it is gracefully formed. ”

“ Briskly and gayly they fly back and forth, pausing at the nest long enough to pat the soft building material into shape. A single load makes half a ring at the larger part of the nest or a whole one at the bottom; and since one dries before the next is put on, the contour of each ring is visible when the tube is done, giving a very artistic effect. This is only accident, however; the wasp cares nothing about the beauty of the structure, for her next step is to daub the whole with lumps of mud, the walls being thus thickened and strengthened. ”

“ It is strange enough that with no one to teach her Pelopæus knew how to make her cell; but now she must do her hunting, and it is stranger still that she should be impelled to catch nothing but spiders. How does she know a spider from a fly, and why should she prefer one to the other? Not so unreasonable as some wasps, however, she demands nothing further than that her prey shall belong to this great group, and passes lightly over differences of species and genera. Her powerful sting fits her to cope with anything she may meet ”

“ When Pelopæus has filled her cell, she seals it up and makes another close to it, clusters of from six to twenty being found in one spot. Any especially desirable place is used by great numbers; and they make a lively scene, working eagerly at their nests, dashing off for more mud or bringing in their victims. All animated by the same compelling instinct, they are still individuals, and the character of each enters into her work. ”

“ Those that are carrying flies must pause a moment, burdened as they are, to scratch away the earth at the entrance to the nest. When unmolested they go in very quickly, but it is just at this point that the marauders fall upon them, displaying an amount of persistence and energy in their attacks that, were it properly directed, might easily enable them to secure flies for themselves.
We once saw a wasp that had been fortunate enough, or perhaps unfortunate enough, to catch an immense [129] fly, the wings of which stood out on both sides very conspicuously. ”

“ These were examined carefully, the wasp going up and down the stems and looking under every leaf; but the search was so frequently unsuccessful that in estimating their work we are inclined to think that they can scarcely average one caterpillar a day.
In this species, as in every one that we have studied, we have found a most interesting variation among the different individuals, not only in methods, but in character and intellect. While one was beguiled from her hunting by every sorrel blossom she passed, another stuck to her work with indefatigable perseverance. ”

“ Our acquaintance with Pompilus marginatus began in the middle of July. She is a small creature, only half an inch long, and is dressed in black, with a bright [222] orange spot on each side of the anterior part of the abdomen. We were watching the pretty little Diodonti, as they filled their holes with aphides, when we saw her going backward, dragging along a medium-sized spider. Soon she came to an onion flower that was lying on the ground. Here she stopped and, after a moment’s hesitation, drew her prey in among the blossoms of the cluster so that it was hidden from view. ”

“ Never did an insect behave in a more demented manner, and although there may have been a method in her madness it was difficult to discover it. No hole nor cranny pleased her, and back she flew to the onion to see whether her booty were safe. For fifteen minutes she ran and flew now here, now there, hurry and anxiety in every movement, returning frequently to reassure herself about the spider. Several times she entered a hole at the base of a weed, not a made nest, but an accidental crevice ”

“ WASP EATING
While poor humanity takes comfort in a mid-day siesta, wasps love the heat of noontide, and with every rise in temperature they fly faster, hum louder, and rejoice more and more in the fullness of life. The entrance to the Vespa nest was but an inch across ”

“ Under the term Instinct we place all complex acts that are performed previous to experience and in a similar manner by all members of the same sex and race, leaving out as non-essential, at this time, the question of whether they are or are not accompanied by consciousness. Under Intelligence we place those conscious actions which are more or less modifiable by experience. It is this power that enables an insect to seek, accept, refuse, choose,—to decline to make use of this or to turn to account some other thing. ”

“ The males, however, made no objection when strange females entered the nest, as they sometimes did by mistake, nor did the females object to the entrance of a strange male when the one belonging to the nest happened to be away; but in such cases the rightful owner, on his return, quickly ejected the intruder. We often amused ourselves, while we were watching the nests, by approaching the little male, as he stood in his doorway, with a blade of grass. He always attacked it valiantly, and sometimes grasped it so tightly in his mandibles that he could be drawn out of the nest with it. ”

“ It was as though a feeble child [299] should try to move the body of an elephant. The little wasp clasped one of the spider’s legs firmly in her mandibles, and then with braced feet and the wildest flutter of wings made gallant but futile attempts to get it started. ”

“ It has been thought that man is the only tool-using animal, yet here is one of these wasps, Ammophila, that uses a little pebble to pound down the earth over her nest. She takes the pebble in her mandibles, as you or I would take a stone in our hand, and uses it as a hammer to pound down the soil above the cavity that holds her egg. ”

“ Biguttatus is not strong enough to fly when laden, but it is the habit of the species to climb backwards to the top of every obstacle in the path, and from this vantage point to gain time by taking a downward flight in the direction of the nest. It is only in the case of tall, smooth-stemmed plants and grasses that the advantage gained is enough to repay the trouble of climbing, and we have often thought that the notion costs the wasp more trouble than it is worth,—as was certainly the case with one comical little creature that carried the idea to the extreme of folly. ”

“ The rightful owner of the prey was disturbed and dashed at her, driving her away again and again, but she flew only a short distance and was soon back, always creeping nearer and nearer to the spider. We, too, were watching with closest attention, but our desire was to see the speedy homecoming of Pompilus and to learn whether she cut off the legs of her victim; and so, interesting as was the contest between the wasp and the wasp-inquiline, we decided to interfere and remove the intruder. ”