114 Insect Life: Its Why and Wherefore 
young wasps are hatched out, the nest 
increases in size. Thus I removed a few 
years ago from an empty beehive, a wasps’ 
nest with one tiny tier containing about 
a dozen cells, the whole being no larger 
than a golf ball, and I have also seen a 
nest when fully built that could not, 
without crushing, be got into an average 
sized bucket. By far the larger number 
of wasps are abortive females or neuters, 
but later on in the summer, a number of 
males are hatched and a goodly number of 
females. Of the former a few are necessary 
for mating purposes, and the females, 
born late in the year, will survive the rigours 
of winter to begin their rounds as queens 
in the year following. It cannot be 
denied that in many ways wasps are a 
nuisance when over plentiful. What is 
more aggravating than to find some of our 
finest specimens of plums, pears, apples, 
peaches and even grapes spoiled by them — 
and they know good fruit when they see it ! 
They will get into the house, and we find 
them on our tables, in the kitchens, larders, 
everywhere in fact, but how few remember 
the debt which we owe them — for all 
