252 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



or twelve compartments, one above 

 another. 



Where wasps partition long tunnels into 

 a number of cells, the egg last laid is near 

 the entrance, and one wonders how the 

 wasps from the first-laid eggs at the other 

 end of the tunnel are able to get out. 

 In wasp life this seemingly difficult prob- 

 lem has been easily solved. 



The wasp from the last-laid egg is the 

 first to mature. 



The last wasp in is the first wasp out. 

 The one next behind matures next, gnaws 

 through its cap, finds itself in its neigh- 

 bour's empty cell, through which it crawls 

 to the outer world. The next wasp in 

 succession comes through two empty cells, 

 and so on, until all are safely out. Usually 

 there are not more than four or five of 

 these adjoining compartments. 



Wasps use a variety of materials in lin- 

 ing and closing their cells. Some are 



