THE MASONS 209 



mud cells and restocking them with provi- 

 sions, thus saving the labour of carrying 

 mud for a new nest. A number of queens 

 have even been observed working amicably 

 together, clearing out and re-fitting the 

 cells in a large cluster left over from the 

 season before. 



In the fall of the year the female mud- 

 daubers often come into the houses and 

 crawl into clothes that may be hanging in 

 a room. 



Occasionally some one puts on a gar- 

 ment which contains one or more of these 

 seekers after a cosy winter retreat, when 

 the consequences are more amusing to the 

 onlookers than to the victim. 



However, the sting of the mud-daubers 

 does not amount to much, unless a great 

 many of them are received at once, as in 

 the case of a gentleman who put on a 

 suit of clothes that had been hanging in a 

 closet for a week. All unsuspecting of 

 the dozen wasps that had chosen his gar- 



14 



