THE MUD-DA UBERS. 177 



cumstanc^s prefer to ronstruct their cwn domiciles. We have, 

 in several instances, seen two or three queens of our Polistes 

 fusca join together and utilize a nest of the preceding year, 

 each one clearing up three or four cells -wherein to start her 

 colony, while close bv other queens were starting new nests, 

 each building one for hereelf, being unable to find anything 

 that suited her among the numerous old ones that hung about 

 the place. This intelligent use of old habitations on the part 

 of Pelopaeus is not very frequent, the instinct to build seeming 

 well-nigh imperative. 



The spot chosen for the nest may be in a bam, up among the 

 rafters, in an out-house, under the roof of a porch, or indeed 

 in any sheltered place where it will be protected. Originally 

 they built under over-hanging rocks and in hollow trees, as they 

 still do if better places are not to be found, but when near hu- 

 man habitations they make use of the more convenient positions 

 which they offer. Fabre says that the Pelopaei in France 

 build on chimneys inside of houses, and he even believes that 

 they examine a chimney to see whether it is in use, so that they 

 may be assured of sufficient warmth for their young during the 

 winter. Our wasps are less provident, perhaps because they are 

 entirely able to withstand a low temperature, and so have not 

 had their intelligence so highly cultivated as is the case with their 

 French cousins. 



Having selected a place the wasp goes off for her building 

 material. She will use almost any kind of earth if only it be 

 damp. We once found a nest consisting of a group of fifteen 

 cells, four of which, in the center, were constructed entirely of 

 pure white plaster, making a striking color contrast with the 

 mud colored cells which surrounded them. In gathering her load 

 of mud, the wasp forces her head down into the soil, raising her 

 body into a nearly vertical position. While she works she gives 

 vent to her feelings in a loud contented hum. She ceases to 

 sing as she rises, with a lump of mud held in her mandibles. 

 On arriving at the scene of her building operations she places 

 the soft mud in position, using her mouth, mandibles, and feet, 

 12 



