34 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The true social wasps, wliicli are arranged in one large family, 

 the Ves2ndce, form communities whose architectural labors will 

 not suffer on comparison even with those of the inhabitants of 

 the beehive. In fact, for daintiness and delicacy the nests of 

 many of the Vespidc^ constitute the most beautiful examples of 

 insect architecture. 



Not the least extraordinary of the wasps are the Icarias, a 

 genus that extends through most of the warmer regions of the 



world, specimens having 

 been taken in Africa, In- 

 dia, China, and Austra- 

 lia, and in many parts of 

 the Asiatic Archipelago. 

 Like the Polistes, their 

 nests are attached to 

 leaves, stalks, or branches 

 by a single footstalk, com- 

 posed of the same pa- 

 pery material as the cells. 

 Though slender, it is hard, 

 tough, and solid, and the 

 strength with which it is 

 fastened to the tree or 

 plant is surprising, ena- 

 bling it to uphold con- 

 siderable weight. At the 

 end of the petiole usually 

 a single cell, its mouth 

 directed downward, is 

 fixed ; the rest of the nest 

 consists of a double se- 

 ries of lateral cells until 

 the group is complete. 

 Those nearest to the foot- 

 stalk are the largest and 

 most perfect, since they are finished first; toward the other ex- 

 tremity the cells gradually diminish in size, and at that point 

 they are only just begun. As a whole they are well-defined 

 hexagons; their color is often a rather dark yellowish brown, 

 preventing them from being conspicuous in spite of their curi- 

 ous projection. The cell masses are small, so that the socie- 

 ties must be restricted. Possibly each group is the work of a 

 single female, who confines herself to raising her own progeny 

 which escape as soon as they are hatched. The nests are fre- 

 quently numerous in the same spot, and each society may set up 

 a number of separate homes in the vicinity of one another. Per- 



Fio. 2. Nest of Icaria variegata. 



