STARTING THE NEST 



107 



She is now safely wrapped up, her silk 

 covering preventing the too rapid evapo- 

 ration of the juices of her body. 



Lying there motionless, a marvellous 

 change comes over her. She loses her 

 fat larval form, a waist line appears, below 

 it is a ringed abdomen, above it is a 

 thorax with incipient legs and wings, and 

 a waspish-looking head. 



She is now a " pupa," and at one stage of 

 her transformation is a very charming little 

 creature, as she is as white as snow, and 

 has the daintiest legs and antennae 

 lying close to her body. 



As time goes on, however, she 

 grows darker-coloured until finally a 

 perfect wasp lies in the silk-lined cell. 



During her larval life Vespa sheds her 

 skin as she increases in size, and finally, 

 throwing ofi^ the last delicate covering 

 from her pupal body, she is ready to step 

 forth into the world and see what is going 

 on there. 



