56 NATURAL HISTORY OF WASPS. 
had built in her cottage roof, and who reiterated her 
assurances of their perfect harmlessness as, attracted 
by the light, they flew blundermg about his head. 
But the hornets have found their most genial his- 
torian in Pastor Miller,* who has written a most 
interesting account of the proceedings of a swarm 
which he observed from the commencement. 
In the beginning of May, 1811, he observed a 
hornet making a nest in an empty bee-hive. The 
nest at that time consisted of a hood over seven 
cells, none of them containing eggs. However, the 
eggs were soon after laid, and the brood began to 
appear on June 15. He could observe all the pro- 
ceedings of the queen, and calculated that about 
eight or ten seconds were occupied in the deposition 
of each egg. The growing swarm now endeavoured 
to close in the nest below, but the familiarity which 
he had acquired with them enabled him to break 
away the case as fast as they built it, and thus to 
keep the interior exposed to view. By killmg some 
of the larve, which the workers immediately re- 
moved, he contrived to keep the numbers within 
bounds. His pets had reached the number of fifty 
or sixty, and the drone brood were coming forward 
when, one unhappy day, the queen was lost. She 
had continued to fly in and out all the time, but this 
day she did not return, and after her loss the swarm 
dwindled away. His hornets knew him, and used 
to let him handle them and carry their nest about; 
those who were out when the nest was taken away 
waiting on the hive-board till its return. We shall 
* Beitrige zur Naturgeschichte der grossen Hornisse. ‘ Magazin 
der Entomologie. Germar. Halle, 1817. Band III, s. 56, 
