504 



ARTICULATA. 



iiiiiy l>(.' takin as tiio typo. This insect lives in extensive communities, inhabiting a nest formed 

 in hoU>8 of walls, buiklinus, or the ground; the mass of the community, as we shall see among 

 tlu' ants, is composed of barren females, or workers. In the wasps these are winged, so that 

 the dit^Vrenoe between them and the queens, or fertile females, is less striking than among tlie ants. 

 IJuf in ad<liti(>n to these Social Wasps there is a considerable number which are solitary in their 

 habits, possessing only individuals of the two sexes, perfect males and perfect females, of wJiich 

 the latter form nests or burrows in which they lay their eggs, after stocking them with food. 



The nests of the Social Wasps are formed of a paper-like material, prepared by the insects from 

 wool and other vegetable matters, which they masticate until it acquires a pulpy consistence, and 

 then apply it to the building of their nests. The outside usually consists of layers of a rather 

 coarser kind of paper, and the interior of the nest is occupied by a series of transverse combs, 

 composed of hexagonal cells, with the mouths downward. The combs are united by little pillars 

 formed of the same material. In these cells the eggs are laid, and the larvae are constantly fed 

 with honey by the workers. A few species even lay up a store of honey like the bees. 



The societies of wasps are entirely destroyed every year at the approach of cold weather — only 

 the young females surviving the winter, and these in a state of torpidity ; Avhen the mild weather of 

 spring again calls them into life, they immediately set about the formation of a nest, in which 

 they lay a few eggs, and attend to the larva? themselves. The first brood consists entirely of 

 workers, which, on reaching the perfect state, relieve the queen of all labor, and the colony then 

 rapidly increases. It is, however, composed entirely of workers until the end of the summer, 

 when males and females make their appearance. 



The Solitary/ Wasps usually make their nests of clay or agglutinated sand, generally attaching 

 themselves to walls and palings ; a few also burrow in sandy ground. The nest consists of several 

 cells placed close together, and each cell is stored with a supply of insect food for the support 

 of the larvae. 



HORNETS AND THEIR NEST. 



Tlie Hornets resemble the Wasps in their habits, but they are noted for their spitefulness 

 and the acute pain inflicted by their stings. There are many species, some building a nest of 

 paper-like materials, and attaching it to the limb of a tree, as is customary with certain European 

 species— the Vespa GalUca for instance — and also with the common hornet of this country, 

 others building their vespiaries in the hollows of logs and trees, which they enlarge to suit their 

 purpose. Sometimes they build in a thatch or in the roof of a barn or in holes they find in 



the coverings of out-houses. 



THE FOSSORIA. 



Tliese are Burroivincf Hymenoptera, and are not divided into three kinds like the preceding : 

 they axe called Sand-Wasps or Burrowing-Wasps, and excavate little burrows in mud or sand, 



I 



