372 THE INSECT WORLD. 



cold weather and towards night, they are less vivacious and less to 

 be dreaded. 



The wasps are distinguished from the bees by a decided charac- 

 teristic. In a state of repose they fold together their upper wings, 

 which then seem very narrow, only spreading them out when they 

 are about to fly ; whilst the latter when at rest keep their upper 

 wings spread out. 



Wasps live in companies, which last only a year, and are com- 

 posed of males, females, and workers. But the female wasp does 

 not pass her entire life in idleness, as a queen, like the mother 

 hive bee. She occupies herself in making the nest and in taking 

 care of the young, like the mother humble bee. The males have 

 also their duties. They watch over the cleanliness of the habita- 

 tion, and are the sanitary commissioners and undertakers to the 



Fig. 345. Common Wasp ( Vespa vulgaris). Fig. 346. Bush W<isp ( Vespn, rufa). 



city. These are easily recognised by their oblong bodies, having 

 so slight a connection with the thorax, as it were by a thread. 



Their sting is larger than that of the bees, and is supplied with 

 poison from a pouch placed at its base. The males have 110 sting. 

 Wasps do not secrete wax. With their mandibles they cut vege- 

 tables and plants, the fragments of which they agglutinate 

 together in such a way as to form a tough cardboard. Thus 

 they invented the manufacture of paper long before men. Charles 

 de Geer, in his celebrated work, sums up the habits of these 

 insects in the following manner: "Wasps," says he, "are, like 

 bees, fond of sweets and honey, although they rarely seek them 

 in flowers ; but their principal food consists in matters of quite a 

 different kind, such as fruits of all kinds, raw flesh, and live insects, 

 which they seize and devour. They sometimes do dreadful damage 

 in beehives, devouring the honey, and killing the bees. They do 

 not gather wax ; their nests and their combs are composed of a 

 matter resembling grey paper, which they get from rotten wood, 



