1975] 
Hermann CSf Dirks — Polistes ananularis 
105 
the queen leaves the nest. Loss of the queen occurs in April for P. 
canadensis and in late August for P. annularis. 
Selection of a Nest Site 
P. annularis females most often select a nest site near or on the 
nest site from the previous year. In the Athens area this is on and 
in buildings. Very little nesting occurs in trees, shrubs or bushes. 
Of the nests found in shrubs and bushes, none appeared to last 
through a complete season. After their posthibernation aggregating 
and mating they go to or near the nest site occupied by the nest from 
which they emerged. If the old nest still remains, they may begin 
construction of a new nest near the old nest or on rare occasions even 
on the face of the old nest. If the old nest has been removed, the 
new nest most often is started directly on the old pedicel or on the 
exact spot that the old nest occupied. Never is the old nest used 
again. 
The reasons for not using the old nest are several. The old nest 
is often torn and dirty. These problems, however, could be handled 
by repair and cleaning. Probably the most important consideration 
is that many of the nests are parasitized by late summer and the 
parasites sometimes overwinter in the nest. The old nests, thus, 
would have built-in parasites which would be highly detrimental to 
a colony. Also many nests have overwintering moths that prey on 
the immature stages of polistine wasps. 
Collection of Wood Fiber 
From the beginning of nest establishment, the dominant queen 
remains on the nest most of the time while her cofoundresses collect 
wood and build the nest. Wood is collected most often from old 
buildings by scraping surface wood off with the mandibles. This 
wood pulp is mixed with saliva and added to the nest in a character- 
istic way (Eberhard, 1969). As dominance is established and work- 
ers emerge, the functions of wood gathering and nest building are 
assumed by them. 
Collection of Food 
As in wood gathering and nest building, the dominant queen 
devotes very little time to the collection of food. On nests with only 
2 or 3 cofoundresses, the dominant female may leave on occasion but 
as dominance is better established she ceases functioning away from 
