300 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



do all the work of the colony. Some few 

 are males, useless gentlemen who toil not 

 neither do they spin. To marry well, into 

 a neighboring royal family, and then to die, 

 is the full span of their duty. They even 

 lack the common weapon of defence in the 

 tribe, the sting. In addition to these are the 

 small number of fully developed females. 

 Genuine winter weather is too much for 

 most wasps. It usually surprises a good 

 many young who are only half developed 

 and who are killed by the frost. The males 

 and workers all die. The queens, old and 

 young, forsake the nest, and each hunts a 

 quiet place where she will be protected 

 from the winter's cold, and goes to sleep. 

 When she wakes, it is to enter into the round 

 of life pursued by her mother before her. 

 To the best of my knowledge, the old homes 

 are never used a second year. 



As my walks lead me by the old neglected 

 mill-pond, I see the home of a colony whose 

 winter fight is a compromise. The mem- 

 bers will not brave it out as the crow does, 

 nor yet will they succumb as does the wasp. 



