58 



NEST OF A MUD WASP 



What a Wasp 



sheltered places. 



is like. Wasps pass the winter sleeping in 

 In late fall or early spring you may often 

 see them on sunny 

 windows in the attic 

 or barn. Has a 

 wasp the same num- 

 ber of wings as a 

 house fly? Has it 

 the same number of 

 legs ? Has its body 

 the same divisions ? 

 You may know 

 the common mud- 

 building wasp by its 

 long slender waist. 

 Kinds of Wasps. 

 There are many 

 kinds of mud-build- 

 ing wasps. One kind 

 makes a nest like a 

 jug about as large 

 as the end of your 

 little finger. These 

 nests are usually 

 fastened to twigs of 

 trees, or to the stalks 

 of golden-rods. In 

 each nest the mother 



wasp lays a single egg and then fills the nest with live cater- 

 pillars which will furnish food for the grub that hatches from 

 the egg. 



Another kind of wasp that builds on twigs and plant stems 



makes a nest about the size and shape of a hen's egg. The 



cells look like pencil holes drilled irregularly through the nest. 



Another kind of wasp makes long holes in small sumac and 



WASP'S NEST ON AN APPLE LEAF 



