ON INSECTS. 63 



perhaps at first only five or six, in which she 

 deposits her eggs. These are gradually in- 

 creased in number until the eggs are turned 

 into wasps, which then come out and assist in 

 the work of building, until what may be called 

 a large city is formed, inhabited by some thou- 

 sands of her subjects, for the queen is the 

 mother of them all. She generally selects a 

 hole in a bank, some old hollow tree, or a roof 

 of a house, in which to make her future colony. 

 There are, however, two distinct species of 

 wasps in this country ; one of which forms her 

 nest, generally a smaller one, on the boughs of 

 fir and other trees. They are round, and are 

 covered with what may be called flakes, of a 

 substance made also from wood. These throw 

 off the rain, and also serve to keep the young 

 wasps warm before they arrive at maturity. 

 The other species of wasps make the same 

 covering. 



In order to show you with what rapidity 

 these insects form their nests, I will mention 

 the following fact: I built a small shed early 

 one spring, which was covered over with slates. 

 In the course of the following autumn it was 

 found that the slates admitted the rain. Some 



