WASPS, SOCIAL AND SOLITARY 



blue paper for the red. Again the confusion, the swarm- 

 ing of fervent legions, the noisy expostulations, the 

 descent of one after another; but this time they settled 

 down to their ordinary routine in a little more than two 

 hours. On the following day we removed the blue paper, 

 leaving the grass around the nest exposed ; and this 

 proved a new source of mystification, but not so serious 

 as the others. At the end of an hour twenty-five or thirty 

 were still buzzing about, needing the guidance of the 

 blue paper to get inside, and entering at once when it 

 was replaced. As we tried new colors from day to day a 

 few of the wasps became entirely reconciled to our inter- 

 ference, and paid no attention to the changes, while the 

 others grew more or less accustomed to the idea of muta- 

 bility, and were but little disturbed, although they still 

 showed their consciousness of each alteration by making 

 a few circles before going in. We once placed some dark 

 red nasturtiums on light yellow paper near the nest, and 

 found that more than one third of the homecoming 

 wasps flew to them and hovered over them before enter- 

 ing. When light yellow nasturtiums, nearly matching the 

 paper in color, were substituted, only one out of thirty- 

 six noticed them; and as the odor was as strong in one 

 case as the other, it would seem that the color was the 

 attracting force. 



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