8662 



Insects. 



contained, and setting about the construction of a fresh covering. 

 Being placed a little in advance of the other nest, or somewhat nearer 

 the entrance through the window, the greater part of the workers on 

 coming in, entered it and deposited their respective burdens, instead of 

 continuing their march to the further one, the consequence of which 

 was that it soon became far the more populous of the two, the work 

 being carried on with great rapidity. 



On the 23rd I took out a nest of V. vulgaris that had been going to 

 decay for some time past; it did not contain a single pupa or spun-up 

 larva, and but very few of any age, with scarcely an egg, though the 

 queen was still attached to it and appeared to be healthy enough. 



On the 24th I took out a nest of V. germanica, separating the combs 

 and leaving the insects behind. To these combs, as already stated, 

 another colony was introduced on the 28th. 



On the 29th I took out another nest of V. germanica ; it contained 

 six combs, which were separated and all the wasps removed. Four 

 of the combs were strung on a wire, while the other two were divided 

 into eight parts : the pieces were strung upon four wires, two upon a 

 wire, and the whole number suspended in front of the nest obtained on 

 the 10th of July, which had now attained to a large size ; from this 

 nest a number of workers proceeded to fabricate a covering for each 

 set of the combs above mentioned, and to feed the larvae they severally 

 contained. 



On the 18th of September I took a small nest of V. Crabro that had 

 gone to decay : the queen was found dead in it, and with the excep- 

 tion of one larva, about half-grown, the cells in the single comb it con- 

 tained were empty. About thirty workers had apparently been pro- 

 duced, but not one, either dead or alive, was to be found. I had 

 known of the nest for some weeks, and had observed a gradual falling 

 off in the number of the workers, instead of an increase, so that it was 

 obvious there was something amiss in the affairs of the colony. The 

 nest was situated in the hollow trunk of a service-tree about ten feet 

 from the ground, and was within a few yards of the spot in which the 

 one I obtained the year before was situate. With reference to that 

 nest I may remark that of all the young queens which left it in the 

 autumn, numbering, 1 believe, upwards of two hundred, not one was 

 seen upon wing the following spring ; a single one was found by some 

 workmen in grubbing up a tree in the depth of winter, which was 

 lying in a torpid state under the roots, and this was the only example 

 1 could hear of as having been met with. I captured three when 

 about to leave the nest, and detained them during the winter, keeping 



