1 66 INSECT ARTIZANS AND THEIR WORK 



position committed to memory, her next task is to 

 find a suitable building site. Her choice will depend 

 upon whether she is a Tree Wasp or a Ground 

 Wasp. We have eight British species of wasp. Of 

 these the largest is the Hornet {Vespa crabro), 

 which builds in hollow trees and under thatched 

 roofs ; another, the Austrian Wasp {Vespa austriaca) 

 is a lodger in the nests of other wasps. Of the 

 other six, three {V. arhorea, V . sylvestris, and 

 V. norvegica) build in trees and bushes, and the 

 remaining three {V. vulgaris, V. germanica, and 

 V. rufa) make their nests underground, often in 

 the nests or runs of mice or moles. 



Supposing she was one of the Tree Wasps, she 

 would probably select a branch of a holly- tree, a 

 larch, or a gooseberry-bush. After careful examina- 

 tion of several branches, as though she were con- 

 sidering their strength, their sunny aspect, shelter 

 from gales, and so forth, she flies to the fence pre- 

 viously discovered and scrapes off a ball of woody 

 fibres, with which she returns to the tree. Masti- 

 cating her material and thoroughly incorporating 

 with it the fluid cement from her mouth, she next 

 spreads it out around the branch. Making re- 

 peated journeys to her timber stock, she soon has 

 a short bar of papier mdche hanging straight down 

 from the branch. To the free end of this additional 

 paper is attached, which takes the form of three 

 saucer-like shallow cells. As soon as these arc 

 ready, she lays an egg in each, gluing it to the sides, 

 for the cells, be it remembered, are inverted, and 



