26 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



January 



THE HONEY-MAKING WASPS 



By Frank C. Pellett 



In the July number was an account 

 of the shipment of a colony of honey- 

 making wasps from Rio Hondo, Tex,, 

 to Hamilton, by C. S. Engle. A pic- 

 ture of the big nest inside the cage in 

 which it came was shown at that 

 time. The insects were a source of 

 great curiosity to the people of Ham- 

 ilton upon their arrival, and caused 

 many interesting comments. 



The cage was opened and the nest 

 hung beside the dining-room window, 

 where the activities of the insects 

 could be readily observed. For a time 

 they worked away with apparent con- 

 tent. I was beginning to congratu- 

 late myself upon my unusual oppor- 

 tunity of watching the insects at 

 close range, when they suddenly 

 swarmed out and deserted the nest. 

 No one saw them go and we could 

 find no trace of them. When heavy 

 frosts came in October and brought 

 down the leaves a new nest was found 

 in a small black locust tree only about 

 a block distant from the site of their 

 old nest by the window. The new 

 nest had been made in a small tree, 

 one of a thick clump. As the nest 

 grew in size the weight became too 

 much for the little tree, and it bent 

 down until the nest rested upon the 

 ground. It was nearly as large as the 

 original, and was occupied by a very 

 numerous population of insects much 

 resembling our native yellow jackets. 



Since these insects are native to a 

 tropical country and can stand very 

 little frost, the nest was removed to 

 the cellar, where it is hoped that they 

 will pass the winter safely. There was 

 no way to open the nest to ascertain 



whether or not they have a sufficient 

 supply of honey to carry them 

 through. It is extremely doubtful 

 whether insects of this kind, native 

 to a tropical country, where they have 

 opportunity to gather nectar every 

 month in the year, will survive the 

 long months of confinement in an 

 Illinois cellar. 



Although there were only a few 

 weeks of time when the nest and its 

 occupants were under observation, a 

 number of interesting facts were ob- 

 served. When the foragers returned 

 from the field with a load of nectar, 

 they would pass from one worker to 

 another on the outside of the nest and 

 divide the spoil. The drop of nectar 

 could be very plainly seen as it was 

 offered, and each recipient took but 

 little. From three to a dozen individ- 

 uals would take a portion before the 

 forager would disappear within the 

 nest. 



Peculiarities of the Insects 



The nectarina seem to form a link 

 connecting the bees with the wasps. 

 They have a number of characteris- 

 tics which apply to bees, and others 

 that are distinctly wasplike. Their 

 nests are made of paper like the 

 wasps and greatly resemble those 

 made by the yellow jackets and bald- 

 faced hornets. These native wasps, 

 however, feed their young on animal 

 food, while the nectarina store honey 

 .in the cells as do the honeybees. I 

 did not observe them bringing in any 

 pollen, and apparently the only pol- 

 len brought in is such as is contained 

 in the drops of nectar. There are 

 several species of these honey-mak- 

 ing wasps common from Mexico 

 south to Brazil. I can find no record 



Nc8t of honey-making wasps hung beside the window 



of their occurrence within the United 

 States, but from my correspondence 

 with beekeepers and my visits to that 

 region, I know them to be quite com- 

 mon in the extreme lower region of 

 the Rio Grande Valley. As nearly as 

 I can ascertain, they only occur a few 

 miles north of Brownsville, and no- 

 where else within the limits of our 

 country. I have never found any of 

 our native wasps which lose their 

 stings as do the honeybees. When 

 the nectarina sting, they lose their 

 stings in the same manner. I was much 

 astonished at this the first time one 

 stung me, and I deliberately repeated 

 the experience several times to make 

 sure that it was the normal thing for 

 them to do. 



Although they store a considerable 

 amount of honey in their paper combs, 

 they do not cap it over as do the 

 honeybees. Another resemblance to 

 the honeybee is the fact that they are 

 reported to swarm in much the same 

 manner. I found this colony to be 

 quite gentle and to show very little 

 resentment when I examined the nest. 

 When one does sting, it is very pain- 

 ful. 



Failing to find anything concerning 

 these insects in any of the publica- 

 tions on natural history in this coun- 

 try, I appealed to friends in Wash- 

 ington to see whether anything was 

 available elsewhere. Through the 

 kindness of Doctor Phillips, I have 

 secured a translation of an account 

 of a French naturalist which was 

 published by the Entomological So- 

 ciety of France many years ago. He 

 described several species and- de- 

 voted considerable attention to Nec- 

 tarina lecheguana, the species under 

 consideration. He stated that about 

 one-sixth of the population of a nest 

 sent him from Brazil consisted of 

 large females having in the oviduct 

 eggs ready to be laid. I have not been 

 able, as yet, to distinguish any of the 

 insects as queens. Du Buyssen, the 

 naturalist quoted, is of the opinion 

 that larvEe are fed on delicate insect 

 larvae in addition to the nectar. If 

 he is correct, we find here the food 

 habit resembling both bees and wasps. 

 In the regions where the nectarina 

 are common they are said to be 

 smoked out of their homes in Decem- 

 ber and left to start anew while the 

 nest and honey are taken away. I 

 learned from the beekeepers about 

 Brownsville that the nests are miich 

 sought for by the Mexicans who live 

 in the vicinity, and we read that 

 tliey are often sold in Mexico for the 

 honey which they contain. There are 

 cases recorded where the cowboys 

 have become intoxicated from eating 

 honey from these nests, which was 

 gathered from daturas. 



These insects are principally an ob- 

 ject of curiosity to us and could hard- 

 ly become of commercial interest. 

 Pictures showing the original nest in 

 which they were received and also the 

 new nest which they afterwards built 

 arc shown. Should they survive the 

 winter, perhaps other facts of inter- 

 est may later be discovered. 



