THE STORY OF A WASPS NEST 



J/ 



WOOD WASPS NEST ON A FIR BRANCH. 

 Part of the covering has been removed 



entrance to the nest. 



in each one. Before many cells are made, 

 the eggs that were first deposited begin 

 to hatch out their grubs, and then the 

 queen has new work to attend to, for the 

 helpless grubs within their cells have to 

 be fed. Nevertheless, they get attended 

 to, and, as the\' grow, the walls of their 

 cells are built higher to accommodate 

 them ; and the whole of the time this 

 overworked mother goes on gathering 

 material and building the cells and walls 

 of the city, not to mention the deposit- 

 ing of eggs in each cell as it is formed. 



Later on, some of the 

 first hatched grubs cease 

 to feed, and spin a silken 

 cover over the mouth of 

 their cells. That is a 

 glad day for the queen 

 \\"asp, for not only is 

 she relieved of the work 

 of feeding the grubs, 

 but soon she will ha\'e 

 willing assistants around 

 her, all ready and 

 anxious to helj) on the 

 great work which she 

 has, by her own un- 



labours, com- 



and carried 



to such a suc- 



their way through the 

 cf)\x'r of their cells. 

 They ha\e n(nv de- 

 \elopcd wings ; indeed 

 they are fully-developed 

 worker W'asjjs. At their 

 advent, things grow 

 apace. Like their mother 

 they naturally and im- 

 metliately develo]) build- 

 ing i)roclivities, and leave 

 the nest to gather in 

 wood and vegetable 

 fibres ; they return with 

 this material masticated 

 ready to build cells or ex- 

 tend the boundary walls, 

 as the case may be. 

 What is more remark- 

 al^le, they have the 

 same motherly instinct 

 as the queen herst-lf, 

 feeding and tending the young of tlie 

 continuail}' increasing nursery ; in fact, 

 they are like their mother in every re- 

 spect, excepting that under orciinary 

 circumstances they ne\-er lay eggs. 



With the increased labourers new combs 

 or terraces of cells are formed one below 

 the other. Little pillars are attached here 

 and there to the connecting point of 

 some of the cells, and to these are added 

 three or four cells, just as in the first in- 

 stance ; then more cells are placed beside 

 these by numerous workers until each 



only one small hole is used as 



aided 

 menced 

 through 

 cessful issue. 



After a brief period 

 the pupating grubs bite 



A WOOD WASPS 



NEST WITH 

 TO SHOW 



THE 

 THE 



PAPER 

 CELLS. 



COVER REMOVED 



