676 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



insects. The whole population of the nest dies in the late autumn with 

 the exception of the young fertilised females. These survive through 

 the cold weather months* and in the spring set about founding a new 

 colony. The female commences the new nest by partially constructing 

 a few c 3II3 and laying an egg in each. She then continues the building 

 work until the young larvae hatch out. These she is supposed to feed 

 upon saccharine matter at first, subsequently giving them chewed insect 

 food. In the intervals she continues the construction work and eo-o- 

 laying. This however naturally progresses slowly as long as the larvse 

 have to be fed. When these latter are full-fed they pupate and after a 

 short time in this stage the adults, all workers, issue and at once carry on 

 the construction of the nest as also the feeding of the larvee and perhaps 

 of the female herself. She now no longer engages in any work save 

 egg -laying. The adult wasps feed chiefly upon sugary matter and 

 fruit. 



The nests of the Vespid?e are very elaborate structures formed of 

 quite a different material to those of the bees ; these latter, as we have 

 seen, secrete wax and use it to build the comb, whereas the wasps make 

 use of paper or card which they form from fragments of vegetable tissue, 

 more especially woody fibre, amalgamated by means of cement secreted 

 by glands ; these vegetable fragments are obtained by means of the 

 mandibles. In the case of our Indian wasps' nests the whole is enve- 

 loped in so solid and beautifully constructed an envelope of papier- 

 mache (Fig. 72(f), that they are enabled to pass through the heavy 

 monsoon rains without injury. In most of the nests of the Vespidse the 

 comb is placed in stories, one above the other, the stories being 

 in some cases held up by pillars made by the wasps, supported either 

 by a branch or by the outside envelope, communication being- 

 effected by a hole in each layer of the comb, e.g., as in Vespa velutina 

 (Fig. 72) or there may be only one mass or comb, as, e.g., in Polistes 



* This annual extinction of the nests is exceedingly curious since it does not appear to 

 have any act 1 b aring upon the seasons or climate. In tropical climates where there is no 

 cold weather the same thing occurs. De Saussure says : " The nests are abandoned without it 

 being possible to discover the reason, for apparently neither diminution of temperature 

 nor sea city of food causes them (the Insects) to suffer. One is tempted to believe that the 

 death of the Insects is the result of a physiological necessity." That this is not always 

 the c-sh however is proved by the fact that a large nest of Vespa velutina (1), attached 

 to a big tre° in D^hra Dun, remained active right through the winter up to the end of Janu- 

 ary an was pnarentiy only killed off by the severe frosts experienced in February-March 

 1905 It w s blown down with the branch to which it was attached in a severe storm ic May 

 of the same year. 



