AFFECTION OF INSECTS FOR THEIR YOUNG. 313 



much shorter the period during which it is exerted ! In a 

 month or two the young of the former require no further 

 attention ; and if in a state of nature some of the latter give 

 suck to their offspring for a longer period, it is on their parts 

 without effort or labour ; and in both cases the time given 

 up to their young forms a very small part of the life of the 

 animal. But the little insects in question not only spend a 

 greater portion of time in the education of their progeny, but 

 devote even the whole of their existence, from their birth to 

 their death, to this one occupation ! 



The common hive-bee and the wasp in their attention to 

 their young exhibit the same general features. Both build 

 for their reception hexagonal cells, differing in size according 

 to the future sex of the included grubs, which as soon as 

 hatched they both feed and assiduously tend until their trans- 

 formation into pupae. There are peculiarities, however, in 

 their modes of procedure, which require a distinct notice. 



The economy of a nest of wasps differs from that of bees, 

 in that the eggs are laid not by a single mother or queen, but 

 by several ; and that these mothers take the same care as 

 the workers in feeding the young grubs : indeed those first 

 hatched are fed entirely by the female which produced them, 

 the solitary founder of the colony. The sole survivor pro- 

 bably of a last year's swarm of many thousands, this female, 

 as soon as revived by the warmth of spring, proceeds to con- 

 struct a few cells, and deposits in them the eggs of working 

 wasps. The eggs are covered with a gluten, which fixes them 

 so strongly against the sides of the cells, that it is not easy to 

 separate them unbroken. These eggs seem to require care from 

 the time they are laid, for the wasps many times in a day put 

 their heads into the cells which contain them. When they 

 are hatched, it is amusing to witness the activity with which 

 the female runs from cell to cell, putting her head into those 

 in which the grubs are very young, while those that are more 

 advanced in age thrust their heads out of their cells, and by 

 little movements seem to be asking for their food. As soon 

 as they receive their portion, they draw them back and remain 

 quiet. These she feeds until they become pupae ; and within 

 twelve hours after being excluded in their perfect state, they 



