THE WAS?. 



Curious construction of its nest. 



or queens, drones or males, and neutral or work- 

 ing insects : the two first being employed in the 

 propagation of the species, and the last in nurs- 

 ing, defending, and supporting the rising pro- 

 geny. Like the bees they also construct hives, 

 and feed sometimes on the produce of flowers. 

 The nest, (in the formation of which, wasps differ 

 greatly from the bees,) is one of the most curious 

 objects in natural history, and is formed with 

 almost as much art as that of the bees. They 

 generally make choice of some hole begun by a 

 field-mouse, a rat, a mole, or any other animal, 

 for the construction of their nest. Sometimes 

 they build in a level situation, but their nests are 

 most commonly found on the side of a bank, to 

 avoid being annoyed by rain or water. The 

 next step, after selecting a proper place, is to 

 enlarge and widen the hole, at which they labor 

 with unwearied assiduity, removing protube- 

 rances and carrying away the earth, till it is 

 brought to that spherical figure adapted to their 

 purpose. The outline of their habitation forms 

 a cavity of about a foot and a half each way. 

 Their next care is to construct the paper-like 

 covering with which the whole nest is lined. 

 The material of which this substance is composed 

 is wood, picked up in the fields or elsewhere, 

 which they saw and divide into very small fibres, 

 and by the aid of a glutinous matter with which 

 their bodies are provided, knead this composi- 

 tion into a paste, and employ it in their future 



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