112 



ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS THE WEB OF LIFE 



means of her strong jaws she removes the hard parts of the prey, 

 chewing up the rest into a kind of mince-meat adapted to the 

 tender digestions of her offspring. When they have reached 

 their full size the grubs spin cocoons and pass into the pupa stage, 

 from which they emerge as worker wasps about four weeks after 

 the date when the eggs were laid. Without loss of time these 

 take over the work of building and nursing, and even feed their 



mother, who soon has noth- 

 ing to do but lay eggs in 

 the cells as they are con- 

 structed. The complete 

 nest consists of a series of 

 combs, connected by little 

 pillars, and the building 

 operations are carried on 

 from above downwards. 

 Each comb is made up of 

 a large number of roughly 

 hexagonal cells, the mouths 

 of which are directed down- 

 wards. Towards the end 

 of summer cells of larger 

 size are made, in which 

 queens and drones are 

 reared, but many of the 

 latter are brought up in the 

 ordinary small cells. After 

 mating has taken place the 

 community is soon broken 

 up ; most of the insects die, 



but some of the queens survive the winter, and found the com- 

 munities of the following year. Wasps appear to be extremely 

 sensitive to cold, and it is perhaps partly for this reason that 

 the nest is surrounded with a covering made up of layers of 

 paper (see fig. 1096). 



The nests of many species of social Wasp are suspended from 

 plants, while the Hornet ( Vespa crabro] prefers to build in a 

 hollow tree. There is a large amount of variation as to size, 

 shape, and durability, while in some cases earth is added to the 

 ordinary building material. 



Fig. 1096. Section through Nest of a Social Wasp ( Vespa 

 Germanica), rather less than J^ natural size 



e.g., Entrance gallery; s.g., side galleries; 1-7, combs connected 

 by pillars (7 above main figure shows arrangement of the three 

 cells of the youngest comb); env., papery envelope of nest; r., root 

 to which first foundation is attached (other roots with secondary 

 attachments also shown); a.n., part of an ant's nest; /?./., larvae of 

 a fly; m.b., mole burrow. 



