Insects in the Garden 
31 3 
plants. In the greenhouse the plants may be dipped in 
soapy water or in the quassia wash, &c. 
Wasps. — These well-known creatures do some little 
good by devouring large numbers of insects, but, on the 
other hand, they are generally disliked, not only on 
account of their sting, but for the damage they do to 
the fruit. This may be so extensive as to ruin the whole 
crop. 
Everyone is familiar with the nests of these insects, 
which may be found either in banks, in holes in the 
ground, or hanging from the branches of trees and bushes. 
It is better to prevent these nests from being made than 
to destroy them afterwards. This can be done by watch- 
ing for, and destroying, all the queen Wasps that can 
be found. The Wasps that we see in the springtime 
flying about and exploring all the little holes in banks, &c., 
are queens. They are in search of suitable quarters in 
which to start building their nests. So we see that every 
queen destroyed at this time is one nest the less to be 
formed. When a queen has found a suitable place it 
immediately makes a few cells, in each of which an egg 
is laid. After a short period these eggs are hatched into 
little larvae. These are fed for some time on honey, 
which is either collected from flowers or obtained by 
robbing bees. When the larvae are full grown the ends 
of the cells are covered over and the larvae become pupae, 
from which stage they appear shortly as perfect insects. 
In the meantime the queen has been forming more cells 
and laying an egg in each. As soon as the first batch 
of young Wasps is matured they collect food for the other 
larvae, &c. So the work goes on, the Wasps multiplying 
