COMMON WASPS 



and it seemed as though they might intend to build a 

 new envelope, to replace the one ruined by my spade. 

 But they were not repairing; they were simply carrying 

 on the work from the point at which I interrupted it. 

 Over about a third of the comb they made an arched roof 

 of paper scales, which would have been joined to the 

 envelope of the nest if it had been intact. The tent 

 they made sheltered only a small part of the disk of 

 cells. 



As for the wood I provided for them, they did not 

 touch it. To this raw material, which would have been 

 troublesome to work, they preferred the old cells that 

 were no longer in use. In these the fibres were already 

 prepared; and, with a little saliva and a little grinding 

 in their mandibles, they turned them into pulp of the 

 highest quality. The uninhabited cells were nibbled 

 into pieces, and out of the ruins a sort of canopy was 

 built. New cells could be made in the same way if 

 necessary. 



Even more interesting than this roofing-work is the 

 feeding of the grubs. One could never weary of the 

 sight of the rough fighters turned into tender nurses. 

 The barracks become a creche. With what care those 

 grubs are reared! If we watch one of the busy Wasps 

 we shall see her, with her crop swollen with honey, halt 

 in front of a cell. With a thoughtful air she bends 



[149] 



