Social- Wasps. 



99 



may be seen employed for hours together spreading it on with 

 their tongues. 



[There is a genus of foreign hymenoptera, called Polistes, 

 which is remarkable for the building powers possessed by its 

 members. The accompanying illustration is taken from a 

 nest in the British Museum, and is given of the natural size. 

 The cells are not hexagonal, like those of the Epipone, but are 

 roundish in form. Those in the centre assume a roughly 



Comb of Polistcs. 



hexagonal form by pressure, but those which form the 

 circumference of the cell-group are nearly round, especially 

 on their outer sides. The cells are not of uniform width, 

 but are narrower at the base than at the mouth, thus 

 causing the group to assume the form which is seen in the 

 illustration. This curious group of cells was brought from 

 Bareilly, in the East Indies, and in the same collectior there 



