THE SOCIAL WASPS. 347 



refuse to perform any of the reflexes it may have shown prior to this 

 time. If at liberty, the impulse usually carries it a short distance, 

 perhaps two or three feet from the nest, where it spends a considerable 

 amount of time running about in an inquiring way. This alternation 

 of short flights and strolls may last for an hour or more, and the wasp 

 extends its examination of surrounding objects to some distance, before 

 it returns leisurely and as if by accident to the nest. There is no 

 such apparent purposefulness in the procedure as has been described 

 for the solitary wasps. 



The social wasps seem to fly because they feel like it, and the flight 

 is not long because at first it is exhausting. Then follows rest and 

 a stroll, because strolling is easier than flying; then, after another 

 period of repose, perhaps another flight, until a period of this aimless 

 wandering brings it back within reach of the distinctive odor of the 

 nest, whereupon it returns to the accustomed place. Occasionally, the 

 little wasp gets lost in these first casual ventures, and it is not improbable 

 that some wasps become wanderers from the very beginning. 



Unquestionably, being on the nest brings about a state of satis- 

 faction analogous to that evinced by Mr. Thorndike's chicks when they 

 had rejoined their mates. I have several times put a nest in a glass 

 jar where wasps were confined, and when, after fifteen or twenty 

 minutes' wild buzzing and running about, they accidentally came in 

 contact with it, their behavior was, at once, entirely changed. They 

 became quiet and observant, and soon showed a disposition to go on 

 with their usual activities. 



It is somewhat difficult to suggest to what this may be due. The 

 nest has a faint characteristic aroma resembling that of wild honey, 

 which becomes very perceptible when it is confined in a small space. 

 Both the manner of using the antennas and the behavior of wasps in 

 which one or both of these organs have been excised indicate that sense 

 perception by means of them is an important factor in orientation. 

 Within certain limits, the odor of the nest may then serve to guide the 

 wasp and modify its activities when it reaches home. 



It may be profitable here to reflect on the factors of the extremely 

 useful feeding habit. The whole appears to be a complex of reactions 

 which are at first quite separate and distinct. The first step is the per- 

 fection of the process of malaxation and distribution of the food, and 

 is taken before the wasp feels the impulse to leave the nest, or has had 

 any opportunity of finding food for itself. Next comes the familiar- 

 izing with surroundings. This at first has apparently no relation to 

 food-seeking, yet in course of time, and aided probably by the olfactory 

 sense, the wasp naturally comes upon something edible, and, after 

 extracting the juices, it may well be that it tries to distribute the 

 food on the spot. This being impossible, there is a second alternative, 



