WORKERS, QUEENS, AND DRONES 127 



This does not seem to be true of Ameri- 

 can wasps. They are content to leave 

 their helpless young to the mercy of the 

 frost, which is perhaps less merciful than 

 the apparently cruel massacre of Reaumur's 

 wasps. 



The young queens having power to 

 resist the cold, crawl into some cranny, 

 where they lie apparently lifeless, with their 

 legs and wings folded about them, and 

 await the coming of spring. Even in this 

 state they can sting, as more than one 

 luckless experimenter has learned to his 

 cost. 



Some people are afraid to take a wasp's 

 nest into the house in the fall of the year, 

 believing it to be full of dormant wasps 

 that only need the genial warmth of the 

 house to come to life and rush forth intent 

 on making it lively for their entertainers. 

 But this is not the case. The fall nest can 

 be safely handled, as it is empty of living 

 wasps. 



