The Mason-Wasps 



climate around them are useful windfalls, 

 which, however, cannot be relied upon; and 

 the Pelopaeus settles in any lodging where 

 she finds warmth and not too garish a light. 

 The corners of a conservatory; a kitchen- 

 ceiling; the embrasure of a window with 

 closed casement and shutters, provided that 

 these furnish some exit-hole; the rafters of 

 a loft, where the warmth of the daily quota 

 of sunshine is preserved by the heaped-up 

 hay and straw; the walls of a cottage bed- 

 room : any of these suit her, so long as the 

 larvae find a snug shelter in winter. This 

 climatological expert, the daughter of the 

 dog-days, divines the coming peril for her 

 family, that inclement season which she her- 

 self will never see. 



While she is scrupulous in her choice of 

 a warm spot, on the other hand she is 

 supremely indifferent to the nature of the 

 foundation on which the nest is to be 

 fastened. As a rule, she fixes her groups > 

 of cells to the stonework, whether rough- 

 coated or not, and to the timber, whether 

 bare or plastered; but she uses many other 

 supports, some of which are very peculiar. 

 Let us mention a few of these fantastic 

 installations. 



My notes speak of a nest constructed in- 

 72 



