268 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



This is not nearly so beautiful a nest as that which has just 

 been described, the combs being devoid of regularity, and piled 

 upon each other, as if the insect had no settled plan on which to 

 work, and put each comb in any place where there happened to 

 be room for it. Irregular, however, as the structure may seem, 

 it is not without a kind of order, for though the combs look as 

 if they had been placed in a heap, and then rolled together, so 

 as to assume a partially spherical shape, they are at all events 

 made with the intention of forming that shape, so that they 

 may be included under a single covering. In the specimen in 

 the British Museum, the outer wall of the nest has been broken 

 away in several places, so as to permit the combs to be seen. 



The entrance for the insects is very small, and when the re- 

 spective dimensions of the wasp and the nest are taken into 

 consideration, it seems really wonderful that when the inhabitants 

 enter their house, they do not lose themselves in the intricate 

 windings through which they pass from one comb to another. 

 The wasp which makes this nest is bee-like in form, and very 

 small, not a quarter of an inch in length, and bearing some re- 

 semblance to those tiny solitary bees that are seen so plentifully 

 upon dandelions and various umbelliferous flowers. 



The nest is always himg near the ground, quite as low as that 

 of the Myrapetra, and is suspended from the slender twigs and 

 long, delicate leaves which are woven into its substance, and in 

 many places pierce completely through the nest, and project 

 through the outer covering. It is, however, destitute of the 

 sharp projections which guard the home of the latter insect, and 

 as the outer wall is both thin and fragile, it would fall an easy 

 prey to any insect-eating animal that might take a fancy to it. 

 I cannot but think that this utterly defenceless state of the 

 Nectarinia's nest affords a proof that the spikes upon the habita- 

 tion of the Myrapetra are not for the purpose of defending the 

 nest against the attacks of enemies. 



As is the case with the Myrapetra, the cells are made with 

 walls much firmer than those of our English wasps or hornet, 

 which are only intended to hold successive generations of young, 

 and in consequence are made of a comparatively flimsy material, 

 only strengthened very slightly at the entrance. Were honey 

 to be placed in the cell of any known British wasp it would 

 immediately soak into the walls of the cell, and tlience escape by 



