VESPA. 63 



cell the female deposits an egg, which is hatch- 

 ed into a larva or maggot. These larvae are 

 fed by the labouring wasps with a kind of honey, 

 but very inferior to that of the common bee. 

 The mothers attend to them with the greatest 

 assiduity, and it is interesting to observe with 

 what activity they visit the cells one after an- 

 other, feeding each larva as they go along. 

 When the larvse are become large enough to 

 fill their respective cells, they close up the 

 mouth by spinning a very fine silken web, pass 

 into the chrysalis state, and after a certain pe- 

 riod, emerge in their perfect form. The males 

 have no sting, and are not numerous ; the fe- 

 males are but very few, but Jhe neutral or la- 

 bouring wasps abound, and compose nearly 

 the whole of every swarm. They lay up no 

 store of honey for the winter, and most of them 

 perish in the cold season. The few that sur- 

 vive lay the foundation of a new colony in the 

 spring, which by the month of July is raised 

 to a full and healthy swarm. 



G 2 



