286 
STRANGE DWELLINGS . 
probably due to the long residence in a room which is always 
kept warm and dry by artificial means. In the open air, and 
in the ever damp, though hot atmosphere of tropical America, 
the clay would probably be much tougher, without losing the 
necessary hardness. 
The combs are not flat, like those of an ordinary wasp-nest, 
but are very much curved, so that when the nest is laid open 
they almost follow the curve of the walls. This peculiar form 
of the comb is shown in the illustration. The cells are not 
very large, scarcely equalling the worker cells of the common 1 
burrowing wasp of England. 
One of the most remarkable points in the construction of 
this nest is the entrance. In pensile nests, the insect usually 
forms the opening below, so that it may be sheltered from the I 
wind and rain. Moreover, it is usually of small dimensions, 
evidently in order to prevent the inroads of parasitic insects 
and other foes, and to give the sentinels a small gateway to 
defend. But the particular Wasp which built this remarkable 
nest seems to have set every rule at defiance, and to have 
shown an entire contempt of foes and indifference to rain. 
As may be seen by reference to the illustration, the entrance 
is extremely long, though not wide, and extends through nearly 
the length of the nest, so that the edges of the combs can be 
seen by looking into the aperture. The edges of the entrance 
are rounded, so that the outer edge is wider than the inner ; 
but it is still sufficiently wide to allow the little finger of a 
man’s hand to be passed into the interior ; while its length is 1 
so great, that forty or fifty insects might enter or leave the nest 
together. 
