THE COMMON WASP. 369 



dies, transport them to their nest ; and, by means 

 of a glutinous substance furnished from their own 

 bodies, the labouring wasps, which are employed in 

 the nest, form them into a moist and ductile paste. 

 Of this substance they construct the external cover, 

 the partitions of the nest, the hexagonal cells, and 

 the solid columns that support the several stories of 

 the comb. 



In the republic of Wasps, like that of the Bees> 

 there are three different kinds of flies, males, fe- 

 males, and neuters. The greatest share of labour 

 devolves upon the neuters : but they are not, like 

 the neuter bees, the only workers ; for there is no 

 part of the different operations which the females 

 at certain times do not execute. Nor do the males 

 remain entirely idle. The neuters, however, build 

 the nest, feed the males, the females, and even the 

 young. But, while these are occupied in different 

 employments at home, the others are abroad in 

 hunting parties. Some of them attack with intre- 

 pidity live insects, which they sometimes carry en- 

 tire to the nest ; but if these are at all large, they 

 transport only the abdomen. Others make war on 

 the bees, killing them for the honey they have in 

 their bodies, or plundering their hives of the fruits 

 of their labour*, Some resort to the gardens, and 

 suck the juices of fruit ; and others pillage butcher's 

 stalls, from which they often arrive with a piece of 

 meat, larger even than the half of their bodies. 

 Butchers, however, frequently turn these operations 

 of the Wasps to advantage, by hanging up before 

 their shops a calf's liver, or any tender meat. The 



vol in. B b 



