230 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



around the circular rim, by means of the 

 lower lip guided by the mandibles. 



" The insect placed itself astride over the 

 rim to work, and, on finishing each addi- 

 tion to the structure, took a turn round, pat- 

 ting the sides with its feet, inside and out, 

 before flying off to gather a fresh pellet. 



" It worked only in sunny weather, and 

 the previous layer was sometimes not quite 

 dry when the new coating was added. 



" The whole structure takes about a 

 week to complete. 



"I left the place before the gay little 

 builder had quite finished her task : she 

 did not accompany the canoe, although we 

 moved along the bank of the river very 

 slowly." 



Mr. Bates describes a mud wasp of 

 another genus but with habits similar to 

 those of the Pelopaeus, and describes also a 

 large black kind, three fourths of an inch 

 in length, that " makes a tremendous fuss 

 whilst building its cell. 



