246 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



looking for a place of hibernation, and during the sunny 

 days of autumn they often come out of their nooks for play 

 and sunshine (see page 282) . Furthermore, in spring, when 

 nidification begins, they fly about in search of pulp for the 

 nest, insect food for the larvae, and nectar for themselves. 

 All of these things are mentioned merely to show how it is 

 possible for these activities to add to the topographical ex- 

 periences of the wasps, and how age is a factor worthy of 

 consideration in experiments of this sort. After hibernat- 

 ing, the queens begin nest-building in April or early May, 

 and work all alone until the workers emerge about the end of 

 June. During these two months, it is of life-and-death sig- 

 nificance to the brood that the queen learn the environs of 

 her nest 



The first series of experiments were made with queens. 

 At this time, June 19-30, the nests were in an ideal condi- 

 tion; each nest had from twelve to sixteen cells, some with 

 pupae, some with large larvae, some with an egg and still 

 others unfilled. All of this is an index to the queen's activi- 

 ties outside the home. 



An item of value, too, was that, with one queen on each 

 nest and the nests distributed in the dozen outbuildings 

 usual to a farm yard, no markings were needed, and a series 

 of markings was used only in later experiments, after the 

 workers had emerged. The queens were usually gently 

 shaken, without handling, into a wire fly-trap and, in com- 

 plete darkness, carried to a distant point; hence the factor of 

 possible injury was eliminated. 



In all of the experiments but one, the mass of cages was 

 given, while moving and still in complete darkness, a series 

 of turns in every conceivable direction, the more to confuse 

 the inmates' sense of direction or location. 



The work was carried on at a hill-top farm twenty miles 

 south of St. Louis. A half-mile east of the house ran the 



