MAY. 117 



Wasp, but not so pliant, and of a dull buff-colour : if the 

 nest does not fill the cavity in which it is commenced, they 

 protect it by a thick piece of the same substance, made very 

 similar in form to the paper cones in which grocers put 

 their sugar. Vespa vulgaris, the common Wasp, makes its 

 nest in the ground : early in the spring, a few large Wasps 

 may be seen actively engaged in obtaining materials for 

 this purpose ; these are females which have survived the 

 winter, and are now preparing a nest for the purpose of 

 depositing their eggs ; they form a layer of hexagonal cells, 

 in each of which an egg is placed, and the larva is hatched 

 in a few days. The grubs are fed by the parent until full- 

 grown, when the mouth of the cell is closed, and they 

 become pupge ; in this condition they remain about ten 

 days, when the first brood appears in the winged state, and, 

 being all neuters, they are ready to assist their parent in 

 enlarging the nest, constructing fresh cells, and feeding 

 the larvae, as the foundress of the colony still continues to 

 deposit her eggs. It is not till the latter end of the sum- 

 mer that male and female Wasps are hatched : the latter are 

 not driven from the nest, as is the case with the Hive Bees ; 

 consequently there is no swarming of Wasps, but all remain 

 together till the cold of the advancing season destroys the 



