116 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



know what the final result is to be, and all 

 work towards that without finishing indi- 

 vidual parts as they go along. 



The variegated appearance of many nests 

 is doubtless due to the fact that differ- 

 ent wasps bring in materials of different 

 colours and apply them indiscriminately. 



Dr. Ormerod is of the opinion that only 

 young wasps build, and this seems prob- 

 able, as the secretion necessary to form the 

 paper would be most abundant in young 

 insects, just as with bees the younger ones 

 perform the office of nurses, and supply 

 the food partly digested by themselves to 

 the larvae. 



Young wasps are larger than old ones, 

 and their wings are not tattered, and it 

 was such only that Dr. Ormerod saw at 

 work on the nest. 



The old wasps find work enough in pro- 

 viding insects for the many hungry larvae. 



A flourishing wasp's-nest is a scene of 

 constant building up and tearing down. 



