7° 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



drone brood from the unfertilized ova deposited by 

 the worker wasps of the community. From former 

 observations I was fully convinced that ova were 

 laid in what Ormerod styles "secondary" nests, 

 i.e. nests built after the original ones with their 

 queen had been destroyed by the worker wasps, 

 not only of the present species, but also of the 

 V. briiannica and the V. sylvestris. Further, that 

 from such ova larvae might hatch out. How- 

 ever, circumstances induced me to take this nest 

 much too soon to admit of anything definite 

 being made out respecting this phase of partheno- 

 genesis, except the fact that ova had been laid 

 by one or more of the worker wasps, and that 

 some of the tinier larvae, at least, had in all pro- 

 bability been hatched from such ova. 



My next note runs : " August 2nd, 1887. — On 

 July 22nd (eleven days ago) I observed a queen 

 rufous wasp (Vespa rufa), dead and mutilated, 

 being borne out by a worker from a nest of this 

 species in the east dyke of the hay field. To-day I 

 have dug into the hedge-bank and discovered the 

 nest, no wasps either coming or going whilst I 

 was thus engaged. The nest, only a small one, 

 was built well back into the hedge-bank. The 

 burrow leading to it was nearly circular, of 

 uniform diameter, and about three- fourths of an 

 inch wide. It is nearly spherical, somewhat drawn 

 out at the bottom, and is three and ahalf inches in 

 diameter, with the circular hole of entrance a little 

 on one side at the bottom, scarcely three-eighths 

 of an inch diameter on the outside, and not more 

 than a quarter of an inch diameter on the inside. 

 In fact, the hole on the inner side of the nest or case 

 would no more than admit the passage of the queen 

 wasp. The nest was attached to the very abundant 

 fibrous roots of the grasses at the summit, and on 

 the inner side towards the summit of the nest- 

 cavity. So firmly was the nest secured to the 

 roots on the inner side in its upper part, that the 

 walls there were torn away when it was very 

 carefully drawn out of its cavity. At the bottom 

 and in the front part of the nest cavity there was, 

 as is always the case when the cavity has to be 

 mined out to admit of the gradual growth of the 

 nest, an equal space between it and the nest large 

 enough to allow the wasps to creep around on the 

 outside of their nest in their operations of mining 

 and building. The nest contains only two tiers or 

 platforms of comb, the uppermost one being two 

 and ahalf inches diameter and the lower one two 

 inches diameter. Both tiers are near upon circular. 

 In it were four young queens, or perfect females, 

 quite recently emerged from their cells, forty-four 

 drones, or males, and a few workers. In all I 

 obtained twenty-one workers in and at the nest, 

 many returning after the nest was dug out. No old, 

 or foundress, queen was present ; hence the defunct 

 one carried out of this nest on the 22nd July was 



undoubtedly she. From the present condition of 

 the colony I should imagine that she was spent, 

 since the innermost twelve cells of the bottom 

 tier of comb are queen cells, and the next forty 

 cells are, from their smaller size and less 

 height, obviously drone cells ; whilst the succeed- 

 ing gradually-decreasing-in-size larvae, from full- 

 grown within to very small without, are probably 

 also drone brood. The four central cells or 

 cocoons are vacated undoubtedly by the four 

 young queens found in the nest. Of the forty 

 cocooned drone cells immediately succeeding the 

 queen cells none are vacated. The four central 

 vacated queen cells again contain ova, one to 

 each ; hence there can be no doubt that one or 

 more of the workers or imperfect females have 

 laid ova. Possibly the smaller larvae in the 

 rudimentary cells at the perimeter or extreme 

 margin of the comb are also from worker ova, if 

 not some of the larger larvae nearer the centre of 

 the tier. None of the cells in this tier that now 

 contain larvae or pupae have been before tenanted, 

 but are occupied for the first time only. Hence, the 

 upper and earlier-built tier of comb must have given 

 birth to the numerous drones present. The larvae 

 have their ventral surface and mandibles directed 

 towards the centre of the comb ; and they are 

 very decidedly buff in colour, sometimes even in- 

 clining to orange, as is usual with this species of 

 wasp. All are healthy and lively. In the upper 

 tier of comb one-half of the cells are vacated, very 

 many contain drone nymphs or pupae ; whilst some, 

 both within and without, at the margin, again 

 contain larvae. There are some small rudimentary, 

 never-before-used cells on the perimeter, a few of 

 which contain tiny living larvae, and others the 

 dried-up remains of tiny larvae or ova, probably 

 both. On the margin of the second or lower tier 

 of comb are similar cells with similar contents ; 

 hence it is exceedingly probable that a worker or 

 workers have deposited ova in these outermost 

 cells that are thus occupied. This nest, or colony, 

 is, notwithstanding the death of its foundress queen, 

 still in full swing, though the workers are few ; 

 but it has apparently reached its full limits. 

 Eleven of the forty-four drones have quite recently 

 emerged from their cells or cocoons ; but the 

 workers are all old, as they are well-matured. 

 Hence, there being no vacated drone cocoons in 

 the second or lower tier of comb, and the four 

 central vacated queen cells are empty for the first 

 time,, it is obvious enough that the numerous drones 

 must have emerged from the top tier, and that 

 from these same cells must have emerged the 

 workers at an earlier stage. No pupae or nymphs 

 of workers are present." 



This particular nest of the Vcspa tufa I preserved, 

 along with a few others taken subsequently, as well 

 as a goodly selection of the wasps appertaining 





