POLISTES 175 



She has a little flat tongue, like Vespa, 

 and seeks nectar upon the flowers that 

 Vespa visits. Only the females live through 

 the winter, each one starting her own 

 nest in the spring. She begins with a 

 little group of three cells, like Vespa, 

 and her comb grows in diameter until it 

 may become as large as the palm of 

 one's hand. Sometimes when a particu- 

 larly fine place is discovered, a number 

 of wasps occupy it, building their combs 

 so close together that they look like one 

 broad sheet. 



Once these wasps completely lined with 

 their combs the shelter that covered the 

 skylight window of an artist's studio. 



If they had done it with the deliberate 

 intention of displaying themselves, they 

 could not have chosen a better position. 



One standing below could look up 

 through the window-glass directly into 

 the open mouths of the cells, as the nests 

 hung suspended from the shutter, and 



