212 VESPID^E. 



and capable of resisting a considerable amount of moisture ; whilst 

 the nests found in outhouses, &c., are covered with a beautiful 

 texture having the appearance of shell-work : this has been the 

 case in all instances which have come under our notice. 



It is not our purpose here to enter upon a general description 

 of wasps' nests ; but a brief account of the proceedings of one 

 British species may not be out of place. A wasp's nest is com- 

 menced by a single individual a female that has passed the 

 winter in a state of torpidity; the genial warmth of spring 

 arouses her from her lethargy, and she issues forth in search of 

 a suitable place in which to commence the foundation of the 

 vesparium. Having found some hole in a situation adapted to her 

 purpose, she proceeds to enlarge it and to form a subterranean 

 chamber of suitable dimensions : her next operation is to collect 

 materials wherewith to lay the foundation of the nest itself; 

 this is constructed of the raspings or scrapings of different kinds 

 of wood ; having procured a supply, she first constructs a foot- 

 stalk sufficiently strong to support the first two or three layers 

 of cells ; at the end of the column or footstalk she forms three 

 cup-shaped receptacles; these are of course reversed, hanging 

 bellwise ; the depth of each is about the tenth of an inch. The 

 wasp now constructs a covering over the foundation-cells like an 

 umbrella, an egg is deposited in each cup, and she then proceeds 

 to construct additional ones, depositing an egg in each as soon 

 as completed ; by this time the eggs first deposited are hatched, 

 and the larvae now require a portion of her attention. The 

 larvae of wasps grow rapidly, and, with the growth of the grubs, 

 she from time to time raises the walls of the cells ; the cells 

 in the foundation-comb are never carried up higher than the 

 length of the larva ; as it increases day by day, the wasp adds 

 a fresh course of wall until the larva is full-grown, when it 

 covers itself in by spinning a convex cap to the cell, of a tough, 

 white, silky texture. The angles of the planes of the hexagons 

 are determined by the points of contact of the circular bases ; 

 from these the wasp gradually commences the flattened sides of 

 the hexagons, at first a little curved ; but at a slight elevation 

 the sides become perfectly flattened planes, and as such are 

 carried up to the required height. Thus the gradual raising of 

 the walls is as regular and progressive as that of a bricklayer 

 constructing hexagonal chimneys ; each additional layer is laid 

 upon the previous one, which has had time to become hard and 

 suitable for supporting the additional weight of wall required. 

 It may be briefly noticed that wasps do not at all times construct 

 cup-shaped foundations. The species of the genus Polybia (Brazi- 

 lian wasps) lay cup-shaped foundations for their first cells ; but as 



