68 
UNDER THE PLANTAIN LEAF 
take a small bit of dry wood in my 
mouth, and work it about with my 
strong mandibles, moistening it with 
the sticky stuff that is always ready 
in my mouth. Soon I have a nice 
soft pulp, which I can fashion into 
any shape I like while it is moist. 
This stuff I use for making the 
comb. When it is dry it looks 
just like brown paper, but it is much 
stronger than the strongest paper.” 
“Do you put honey into this comb 
when it is done?” asked the bee. 
“No,” was the reply. “Why should 
we, since wasps do not live through 
the winter as bees do? We use the 
cells of the comb simply for the 
queen wasp to lay her eggs in. 
Each cell has one egg in it, and as 
