374 THE INSECT WORLD. 
Before dying, these insects destroy all the larvae which are not 
hatched at the first approach of cold weather. In spring the females 
revive, and begin alone the construction of a new nest. They then 
lay workers’ eggs, which are not long in furnishing them a whole 
regiment of devoted and active assistants. These traits are pretty 
nearly the same for the different species of wasps, the only dif- 
ference being in the way in which they build their nests. 
We have already said that the common wasp makes its nest in 

Fig. 350.—Exterior of a Wasps’ Nest on a branch of a tree. 
the ground. A gallery, of about an inch and a half in diameter, 
leads to the nest, situated at a depth which varies from six inches 
to two feet. ‘It is,’ says Réaumur, ‘a small subterranean town, 
which is not built in the style of ours, but which has a symmetry 
of its own. The streets and the dwelling-places are regularly 
distributed. It is even surrounded with walls on all sides. I 
