506 THE WASB. 



the parent hive a young colony, and founds a new en?- 

 plre, is eflentially a queen ; for (he is more implicitly 

 obeyed than the bed of monarch s, by the moft loyal of 

 his lieges. The female wafp, as her ftation is itiore la- 

 borious, fo her genius feems more enterprifing. Unaided 

 by any of her kind, fhe lays, in the beginning of every 

 feafon, the foundation of a new edifice, which is deftiaed 

 to be the birth place of many thoufands of her fpecies. 

 She conftrufts the firft cells, to \yhich the com nits the 

 earlieft of her eggs, which in time become mule wafps, 

 the moft active and laborious of the whole race ; and by 

 thefe flie is affifled in completing the reft of the work. 



The male wafps are not fo flothful as the male bee ; 

 they difcharge feVeral duties in the interior parts of the 

 hive ; but in i he art of building, either the cells or the 

 external covering, they are altogether unikilled. Thi^ 

 falls to be executed by the mules, who carry it on with 

 amazing difpatch They colUft together the fmall fibres 

 of half rotten wood, which they moiftcn with a glutinous 

 fubftance, and bake up into that paper of which all their 

 ^vork is formed. 



The aerial wafp conftrudls fmall nefts of about the fize 

 of an orange, which it attaches to the branch of a tree. 

 This compact little edifice is expolVd to the weather, but 

 is rendered impenetrable to rain, by a number of leaves 

 which are placed round it, exactly refembling an invert- 

 ed rofe. A particular fpecies in the neighbourhood of 

 Cayenne, conftruft a large oblong box, about twelve or 

 fifteen inches long, of ^ne parchment, which is alfo pen- 

 dent fronfii the branch of a tree ; there the combs fabri- 

 cated of the fame fubftance, are ranged horizontally, iq 

 different iloriesj one above the other ; each having a 



round 



