The Wasp 
113 
a small orange. She then proceeds to a 
tree, post or wooden railing, and begins 
tearing off small fibrous pieces which she 
works up with her powerful jaws and 
which, by the help of a secretion, is con- 
structed into a paper -like substance. You 
will also notice her settling on the young 
buds and shoots of certain trees gathering 
gum or propolis, with which the first portion 
of the nest is fixed on to something from 
which it is to depend. A small tier or 
flattish piece is then built containing a 
number of hexagonal cells. In each of 
these an egg is laid, which, in due course, 
reaches its larval stage — little fleshy grubs, 
of which the first batch are tended by the 
queen herself. When full grown a capping 
is spun by the larvae over their cells and the 
pupal state is gradually reached. When 
the matured wasp, a neuter, emerges from 
the cell it begins almost at once to work upon 
the enlarging of the city and carrying on the 
onerous duties hitherto performed by the 
queen mother, who now, having begun the 
nest single handed, does not go out any 
more, but confines her attention to egg 
laying. So the process goes on. As 
