INSECTS. 



127 



gnaws and crushes decaying wood, and especially 

 bark, with its mandibles, mixing the crushed material 

 with saliva. In this way a pulp is made which is 

 used in the construction of the nest, and dries into 

 a kind of paper. The opening of the nest is in its 

 under side (Fig. 88). 



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Fig. 88.— The Common Wasp ( Vespa vulgaris) and its nest. 



During spring and summer the queen, or "wasp- 

 mother," lays only eggs from which workers are 

 hatched, which undertake the work of nest-construc- 

 tion and care of larvae, so that the queen can devote 

 herself exclusively to the function of reproduction. 

 Towards autumn males, and females capable of being 

 fertilized, are also hatched ; these last afterwards live 

 over the winter in the fertilized condition. 



During summer the larvae are fed by the workers 

 with finely chewed insects or with honey. They do 

 not, however, suck the honey from flowers, but steal it 



