LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 185 



EVENING SEVENTEENTH. 



WASPS. 



Jlunt M. The families of wasps, like those 

 of humble bees, are completely broken up at the 

 close of autumn; and of the many hundreds which 

 usually inhabit one nest, only ten or a dozen 

 of the females live through the winter. All the 

 rest die, and the few which remain are so be- 

 numbed with cold that they are in a torpid 

 state, until the warmth of spring imparts to 

 them new life and energy. They then leave 

 the old nest, and separate from each other for 

 ever; for each has now her particular duty to 

 perform, entirely independent of the others. 



Let us follow one of these female wasps, and 

 see what she is about. Her winter sleep is now 



