50 Descriptive Zoology. 



the entire colony by quietly slipping an insect net over the nest and 

 tying the, net to inclose them. Later a hole may be made in the tip of 

 the net, and a single hornet at a time may be allowed to pass under a 

 tumbler inverted on a plate. After being kept awhile they will be 

 hungry, and if a drop of sugar water be introduced, the proud captive 

 will not hesitate to let his enemies see how he eats. The entrance to 

 these nests is below, while within are horizontal combs. The wasps 

 make the nests out of wood fibers, which they tear off stumps, fences, 

 and unpainted buildings. They chew these fibers into a pulp and make 

 a coarse gray paper. They probably are the original paper makers. 



Another wasp builds a single layer of comb, which is held horizon- 

 tally under some protecting object by a narrow stalk, the comb not 

 being surrounded by a case as with the yellow jackets. The wasps 

 that make nests in the ground also make paper to line the nest. 



Among the solitary wasps some are diggers, and it is interesting to 

 see one of them digging a hole, throwing the dirt back as it digs very 

 much as a dog does. Others make tunnels into the stems of plants, 

 where the young are reared. 



The mud dauber wasps are slender-waisted, and wear a suit of shiny 

 dark blue. - They have the habit of nervously jerking their wings. 

 They are often seen lighting on the mud about horse troughs, where 

 they are gathering mud for their nests. They make a nest of several 

 cells, in which the eggs are deposited. We see these cells on rafters, 

 under eaves, etc. 



Some wasps store the cells with spiders and insects for the larva to 

 feed on till it emerges. Often the insect is stung so as to paralyze, but 

 not quite kill it. 



Ants. Here, again, we have a communistic society with perhaps a 

 still more perfect division of labor. The males and females at first 

 have wings, but the males are short-lived, and the females soon bite off 

 their wings. The work is done by the workers, who are wingless. 

 Some make a nest in the ground, while others tunnel into decaying 

 wood. In a disturbed nest we sometimes see the workers carrying 

 eggs. The large white objects which they carry are cocoons. Ants are 

 very strong for their size and do a variety of work. They care for the 

 larvae, protect the nest from invasion by enemies ; some species make 

 slaves (and it is interesting to note that the masters are light-colored 

 and the slaves dark). They keep cows (aphides) from which they get 

 a sweet liquid (honeydew), and some build a covsr for their herds 



