5 SEPTEMBER 1952, Page 18

A Wasp Entangled When the wasp came too close to

my head I swung my arm and drove him away and as he evaded the blow he went into the spider's web. The tension caused by his struggles sent messages along every support of the web and all at once the spider appeared. He did not run out at once, and seemed to regard his prisoner with anxiety. I expected the wasp to break free at any moment, and when a section of the web snapped he dropped half an inch or so. Quickly the spider ran across and bound the wasp's wings. The sting pot in and out as the prisoner arched his abdomen and worked his jaws, but the keeper of the web retreated and waited. The thing looked like stale- mate. The wasp could not get away or clear his crumpled wings, and the spider, straddling his ropes, feared to venture again. Time was on his side, however. The wasp twisted himself round and, in doing so, firmly entangled one of his legs. The moment to make all secure had arrived. The spider scrambled over and rapidly encased him.