The author goes "wasp-hunting" with his young son Paul. This involves finding a wasp's nest at a time of night when they are relatively dormant, so as to reduce the likelihood of being stung. They make their preparations to put an asphyxiating liquid down the hole, and then transport the entire nest back to Fabre's workshop where it may be more readily observed. Fabre was a keen scientist and a contemporary of Charles Darwin. In this book, set in Corsica, he gives detailed accounts of his observations and experiments with wasps. Fabre is considered to be the founding father of entomology.