604 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



at a little distance with a row of covered cells which follow the 

 shape of the exterior outline, and therefore take the shape of a 

 hexagon. 



The insect well deserves its scientific title. The generic name 

 Apoica is formed from two Greek words, which signifies a colony, 

 and the specific title pallida is given in reference to the hue of 

 the body. It is not a handsome nor even a striking insect, being 

 long, slender, and very pale yellow, looking as if it had once been 

 decorated with a brighter covering. It has altogether a faded and 

 semi-bleached look, suggesting to a practical entomologist that it 

 had been subjected to sulphur-fumes, and thereby lost its color- 

 ing. Even the wings have the same pallid hue as the body, but 

 with a white cast, and altogether the insect seems far too purpose- 

 less of aspect to construct houses which demand so much energy 

 as those which we have just examined. 



The last example of insect pensile nests is, I believe, one that 

 has not yet been described, owing to its recent arrival in this 

 country. 



While I was examining some specimens in the insect-room of 

 the British Museum, two gentlemen brought for examination a 

 box full of insect habitations which they could not identify with 

 those of any known species. At first sight they appeared to be 

 specimens of galls, but a more careful inspection soon showed 

 their real character. They were formed very much like those of 

 the House-builder Moth (see page 302), but with a singular addi- 

 tion. Several specimens are now before me, which will be briefly 

 described. 



The foundation of the nest is a structure of leaf-stems and frag- 

 ments of leaves, varjdng much in size, some being thicker than 

 crow-quills, and others as fine as ordinary needles. These are 

 arranged crosswise upon each other, so that the nest might easily 

 be mistaken for that of a large caddis- worm. The nests, howev- 

 er, differ much in form, size, and material, some being half as large 

 again as others, and some being made almost entirely of large 

 pieces of leaf, and others chiefly of stems, among which the leaf- 

 fragments are closely pressed. 



We will now proceed to cut open one of these nests in order 

 to view its structure. 



The outer covering is remarkably close, stiff, and tough, al- 

 though very thin, and crackles like parchment as the scissors pass 



