ON heathland nature reserves and elsewhere where compacted sand exists, where they have a southerly aspect and are exposed to the sun, you may begin to notice that small holes are appearing.

If the holes form part of a group and are not circular in appearance then this usually indicates the presents of ants.

However, if the holes are circular and appear deep then this could well be the work of solitary wasps.

If it's a sunny day, a short wait will usually reveal exactly who the owner is, but you will have to be very quiet. If it is a solitary wasp, you will be in for quite a treat as these tiny animals can be quite attractive with their shinny gloss black bodies and vividly marked abdomens.

Some are marked in common wasp-like fashion with typical yellow and black markings while others have deep metallic red colouration.

There are a few dozen different species, some of which are hard to tell apart, but all are relatively harmless to us humans unlike their more commonly encountered social wasp relatives.

On observing these wasps you soon see that they seem to live at a very different pace to us. Everything seems to happen at breakneck speed and each movement happens in an instant.

Once the wasp has cautiously emerged from its burrow, it will only spend a few moments pottering around the entrance and this is the best time to get a close look as once it has made the decision to leave it will disappear out into the wilds in an instant.

At this point, if you have the time, do not give up. Just remain where you are, particularly if there are a few similar holes nearby as this will increase your chances, and you may witness the wasp returning to its burrow.

It is only now the true horror these insects must present to the insect world becomes apparent. Sometime on its return to the burrow the wasp can be seen carrying a bundle close to its chest.

A closer look and you discover this is either a small beetle, a caterpillar or, in some cases, a honey bee. The wasp then drags its helpless victim - paralysed due to the effects of the wasp's sting but still alive - into its burrow.

It then entombs the helpless individual into its sand burrow with one of its eggs. In a few hours, the egg hatches and the wasp grub emerges and begins to slowly feed on the hapless prisoner.

With drama like this happening on a sandy path somewhere near you, who needs science fiction?