f. M. CAMPBELL — OUB SOCIAL WASPS. 155 
queen wasp of the species Vespa vulgaris has survived all these 
dangers, and that her wanderings and industrious examinations 
have led her to choose a hole in which she can begin her life’s 
work. She has collected some wood-fibre from some old tree, and, 
having masticated it with her mandibles, and saturated it with 
her saliva, she lays the foundation-stone or rather paper of the 
nest from which, if all goes well, she will rear about 30,000 
progeny. She attaches to the top of the hole a little strap, at the 
bottom of which she builds three or four hexagonal cells opening 
downwards, while above them is a little conical cap about an inch 
wide. In these cells she places her eggs, and she soon increases 
the number of cells as well as the size and thickness of the cover¬ 
ing cap. The rising city is still dependent on the chances of a 
single life, for the founder has to feed the larvae, and can receive 
no assistance until they are hatched. She takes care, however, at 
first only to rear neuters or workers. 
And now let me draw your attention to a well-made large nest. 
The paper covering outside varies in colour and form with the 
species. The interior of the nest consists of six or seven or more 
horizontal layers of hexagonal cells, each layer sustaining the one 
below it by paper attachments like pillars, while all the cells open 
downwards. The nest was not always so large as it is now ; little 
by little it has grown. When once surrounded by its paper 
covering it may be said to have been complete; but the city had to 
be increased with a view to its future population. The horizontal 
layers of concentric cells were made larger in circumference, fresh 
layers were added, the external limit was removed from the inside, 
while the material thus gained may have been re-manufactured, 
and again re-laid on the outside. Over and over again has the 
inside of the sphere been found too narrow for the energies of the 
inhabitants, and that which was approved of one day as adequate 
to their wants has been necessarily enlarged the next. The cavity 
in which the foundations of the city were laid has also constantly 
been found too small. Piece by piece the earth has been removed 
to permit of the enlargement of its borders, necessitating the re¬ 
moval of old attachments and the making of fresh ones to support 
the whole fabric. 
As autumn approaches, the population consists of the mother 
queen, the workers, the males, and the young females. Every¬ 
thing seems to indicate peace and prosperity, until the queen ceases 
to lay eggs, or the cold nights set in. The queen then dies, the 
young females betake themselves to their winter lodgings, while 
the workers seize the larvae and carry them beyond the walls of 
the city to die. It is then that the working wasps lapse back into 
the primeval stage of solitary vagabondism. They abandon their 
responsibilities and forsake their home, and lead the life of pre¬ 
datory tramps. Einally, benumbed with cold and with failing 
vitality, they cannot fly, and only crawl from place to place, fre¬ 
quently stinging the human hand which is accidentally placed on 
them. It is indeed in late autumn that a plea for mercy cannot 
