THE WASP. 143 



female wasps. It will be seen, therefore, that the workers are 

 hatched in the earlier part of the year, and that the male and 

 female do not mnlce their appearance until the end of the season. 

 The cell-terraces increase gradually in diameter until the fourth 

 or fifth, when they usually decrease slightly, and in exact accord- 

 ance with their enlargement the covering is extended over them. 

 A large nest will contain about seven or eight thousand cells ; 

 and, on the average, each cell is the birthplace of three genera- 

 tions. As all the young grubs have to be fed with animal sub- 

 stances, usually flies, the reader can easily imagine the havoc 

 which "Wasps make in the insect world. Mr. P. Smith, how- 

 ever, who has given so much time and labour to this subject, 

 remarks that as he has never found the cells of the males and 

 females to contain the remains of more than one lining, these 

 cells only accommodate a single brood. 



The silken cover is always convex, and draws the mouth of 

 the cell into a rounded form, so that if one of the cells is re- 

 moved from the comb while the pupa is still within it, the two 

 ends are of very similar form. The Wasps do not break through 

 the cover in the same manner. Sometimes they burst their way 

 through the centre, leaving a rude and rugged opening ; some- 

 times they bite out a circular hole, and push their way through 

 it, tearing the edges as they pass through its substance; and 

 sometimes they cut it neatly round the edge, so that the entire 

 covering can be lifted like the lid of an ancient tankard, and the 

 imprisoned insect is able to emerge without any trouble, the lid 

 closing again as soon as the inmate has escaped. 



The covers of the cells are not precisely perpendicular, but 

 radiate slightly from the centre of each comb or terrace. Nor is 

 the flooring precisely flat, for the edges of each comb are slightly 

 raised, so as to form a trifling concavity in the centre. At their 

 mouths, the cells are perfectly hexagonal — those, at all events, 

 which occupy the centre of each comb; but their bases are 

 always cup-shaped, the walls changing gradually into hexagons 

 as the cells increase in height, or, to be more accurate, in depth. 

 "When viewed from above, the forms of the bases are plainly 

 perceptible, and they look very like the mosaic teeth in a 

 skate's jaw. 



The successive layers of which the cell-walls are composed 

 can be easily seen when the comb is held to a strong side light ; 



