18 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



guished by their wings, which are folded 

 fan-like down the middle. 



The digger-wasps are all solitary, while 

 some of the true wasps are solitary, and 

 the rest, belonging to the family Vespidae, 

 are social. 



The Vespidae live in communities and 

 build a common habitation. There are 

 three genera of them in the United States, 

 one belonging to California, and the other 

 two, Vespa and Polistes, to the country in 

 general. 



To the genus Vespa belong the hornets 

 and yellow-jackets. These build nests of 

 paper, enclosed by thick paper walls. The 

 hornets of this country generally suspend 

 theirs from a tree-branch or the roof of a 

 building, while many of the yellow-jackets 

 prefer a hole in the ground, though 

 some species build, like the hornets, 

 ^ in the open air. 

 ^ Polistes builds also a paper nest, 

 ;:j.^ but she does not enclose her combs 

 by outer walls, as does Vespa. 



-Y 



