Entomological Society. 4613 



following results : — The nest of Vespa Norvegica is not uniform in its 

 composition : in one part it consists of very long, flat, cotton-like 

 fibres, very much resembling, if not actually identical with, the long 

 silky hairs attached to the seed of the cotton-grass (Eriophorum), in- 

 termixed with a very few fibres of woody tissue, and in a number of 

 examinations a single fibre only was detected of coniferous wood : in 

 another part of the same nest the cottony fibres of the supposed Eri- 

 ophorum were intermixed with particles of the cuticle and large 

 cellular tissue of what appears to be a species of Juncus. The nest 

 of Vespa germanica is almost entirely composed of loose bundles of 

 flexible cotton-like fibre, the material and structure being very similar 

 to that in the nest of Norvegica, but other fibres are intermixed, pre- 

 cisely similar to those which compose the epidermis in the thistle 

 tribe. The disposition of the fibres is similar in the material used by 

 both these species : they look as if felted together. The exterior of 

 the nest of Vespa vulgaris is composed of the vascular tissue of 

 coniferous and other woods: spiral cribriform and entire vessels occur 

 in abundance, with fragments of divergent layers frequently adhering 

 to them ; the entire substance is composed of these materials, with a 

 considerable admixture of transparent cementing matter having just 

 the appearance of irregular films of isinglass : the interior of the nest 

 is composed of the same materials more highly comminuted, and with 

 a larger admixture of the cementing matter. When I tell you that 

 the nests and names were obligingly supplied by Mr. Smith, and that 

 the microscopic investigation was conducted by Mr. Bowerbank, un- 

 rivalled in his knowledge of intimate structure, you will see that the 

 facts elicited must be received as final : the conclusions drawn from 

 them may be various; my own conviction is that each species, or per- 

 haps even each colony, may select the most accessible substance 

 suited to its purpose : thus the wasp of the barren moor may find 

 suitable material at hand in the gracefully flowing tresses of the cotton- 

 grass, while our London wasp may obtain from every post and rail all 

 that is required: again, the exotic species instanced by Mr. Ingpen 

 may have built its dwelling in a region of Fungi, and have found in 

 the dried fibres of these generally fugitive vegetables a fitting material 

 for its purpose : again, the nest of the tree wasps, exposed to wind 

 and rain, may need a different material from that used by the ground 

 wasp, whose nest is always sheltered from the storm. Simple, and I 

 trust satisfactory, as this explanation may appear, it is one which must 

 fill our minds with the most profound admiration ; for it exhibits a 

 being which we heretofore supposed to be acting under the influence 

 XIII. M 



