NEWS-NOTES 355 



PENNSYLVANIA 



North East 

 Miss Laura Selkregg is now president of the Nature Club, with Mrs. M. H. 

 Benedict vice-president and Miss Ruth Porter secretary-treasurer. The 

 meetings are held at the home of Mr. L. B. Cushman and seem to be full of 

 interest. Mr. Cushman contributes the following on the Paper Wasp. 



Nature Notes 

 By L. B. Cushman 



Should you discover that hornets have built a paper nest under the eaves 

 of your house or in some other location near by, don't make a fuss and set 

 about devising some plan to destroy them or wreck their home, as I have 

 known people to do, but consider yourself fortunate, for these "wolves of the 

 air" feed largely on house flies and other pestiferous insects, thereby contribut- 

 ing directly and materially to your welfare. They rarely attack a person 

 unless it be in self-defense. It is a cowardly animal that would make no 

 effort to save its home in case of attack. Kill these hornets or drive them 

 away, and you give flies and other obnoxious pests a better opportunity to 

 increase. 



If you see a hornet in early spring, you are safe to conclude it is the queen 

 that has weathered the storms of winter and is casting about for a place to 

 establish a colony for the summer. Her house will at first be small, perhaps 

 not more than two inches in diameter — simply big enough to accommodate 

 the first brood, which is never large. As the colony grows, more room is 

 needed for brood cells, and this is cut out from the inside. The outside is 

 added so that the proper thickness may be maintained. 



The comb, like the rest of the nest, is made entirely of paper, as they store 

 no honey, and consequently need no wax. The paper is made of weathered 

 fiber of wood, mixed with saliva and chewed. This fiber is a wooly substance, 

 and is obtained from dead trees that have shed their bark, from old unpainted 

 buildings, from old fence rails, etc. In the fall they leave the nest, and none 

 but the queen survives the winter. The abandoned nest of a flourishing 

 colony is often a foot in diameter. 



Years ago, when muzzle-loading shotguns were in use, a hunter considered 

 himself fortunate to find one of these nests. They thought gun wads made 

 of them were superior to those made of ordinary paper. 



The hornet is your friend, He works for your interest even* day, and works 

 without pay. Preserve him as you would a toad. No one but an untrained 

 child or a fool would injure a toad. 



CALIFORNIA 



California Nature-Stuiy League 

 Reprints from the Sacremento Bee 

 From California Nature-Study League. (Care of C. M. Goethe, 720 Capital 

 National Bank Bldg., Sacramento.) 



With vacation time near, many children throughout California are busy 

 making butterfly nets, looking forward to the fun of making insect collections. 



