The Dillon tribune., 1882-08-12
wAsrs AND THEIR xssr..

THE common wasp IL found oil ove, -.
globe, and 10 known BY it, lonp .ls,Se sne
body, colored yellow and black. and dIel :. ;sE
four wings, two Of which are folded dcvlSs lu
over the back when in repose. "'e
The true wasp Ia always social. livin, :.
gether in large numbers. Wasns mi, ~ =.
divided into three classes, male. femv.,s ~
and nsuter; only the two latter IA N.Y.
videl with stinga One radical difFersnoos NV,
between the bees and the wasps Il that 4he
wasps do not secrete wax They build ths;s .Ie
nests Of gray Or reddish paper. formed
Of fbrous substances that they tear ~
with their pow er; nj mandibles. and fastsr
together with their gluey saliva The a..
rangement Of the cells Il also slightly aif.
ferent. Another psculiarity il the desert;on
Of the wasps' nest ut the first frost.
The perfect females pass the winter hid.
den in the moss, on the ground. or in the
holes in walls or trees. In spring thev
awaken from their long sleep and start out
TO seek food. They attack the blossoms
Of the young fruit trees. and, later. the
currant bushes. This is the best time to
destroy % many wasps a. possible, for each
female wasp that L killed preyent, . eaIa .la
formation Of nest.
tneV
feed to their Larvae 10 much m.re yarie.l
than the n urishment Of the bees. Waxn,
are fond Of al kinds Of sweet things. esn...
cially honey. which they often try to sten,
from beehives. Their tongues are tuo
short to obtain honey directly from flower.
but they attack the ripe fruit where the
skin has been broken by rain or biris:
they drink the sweet snp exuted BY trees
and from these Substances they make n
tolerably sweet honey. which they store
away or feed to their young. Wasps win
also seixe living ins cts, even spiders. and
tear them al'art to feed to the larvw In
the autumn Il ey will even come insid. tho
window to seize the iousefly, and in tho
woods one can often notice the sudden dis.
appearance of all flie~ Ut the approach Of
the hornet They will vornciously dey mr.
the meat expoeetl on the stalls in the mar.
ket, and often oa.,se serious loss to the
careless butcher.
Wasps are much more nocturnal in their
habits than bees a,.d it must be re,nem.
bered that in the evening. when it il ner.
fectly safe to handle beehive ., it may be
dangerous to attack wasps' nest, o. the
wasps may still be flying in and out.
In France wasps generally make their
nests In holes. either III thu earth or in trees
and walls, and under the roofs Of houses.
Nests have even been found in old barrels
and deserted beehives, the remnants Of
whose honey had probably served to uour.
tsh the intruders
The underground nests are very brittle
and easily broken, ~ they were made Of
bits Of decayed wool and bark glued to.
gether They are the color Of fallen leaves.
The common wasp and the - German faxp"
are very similar. aud generally build their
nests IN the abandoned holes IT the tied
mice and moles. They dig out the earth
To- enlarge the nest. and spread it in little
piles about TO hide the entrance to the
hole
In the ordinary no the comb is pro.
tected by concentric covering and divided
into three Gs*t,nct parts 1st. One or ,er.
haps more combs or layers of hexa9onal
cells. I'd. Pillars that Join and support the
different combs I'd. An outside covering
composed of several membranes Of pnper,
which Is covered with sort of gluey var.
nish that is secreted by the waare tongues
and gives the nest a silve; varnish. On nc.
count of this varnish and tn. convex form
OF the nest neither the rain nor cold Gun
penetrate into It. consequently the TEN.
per .turs Of the nest is higher than that Of
The atmosphere, sometimes 'bAing toursssn
| or fifteen degrees warmer.
The mother wasp commences her nest
In the beginning Of summer, and iirst con.
structs foundation Of woody Abres. which
ehe builds mp In the form Of . capsule,
form:n in the centre eight or ten cells, TO
which she adds new Gel when necessary.
The hornets nest u much larger than
al other varieties. and Il usually built In
hollow trees uner large roots on the
ground. or in old walla, chimneys, etc.
These nests wh Oh are composed Of sort
OF pulp OF decomposed wood, are very
frihble. They have single envelope, and
are always placed in some hole for an I'D.
| ditional covering ssd protection Hornets
are very irritable and will attack In crowds
any one who they think will hnrt their
nest. They seek to attack The place
whe the body is unprotected by clothes.
AMI ~ their repeat ed stings are very dan.
gerous, it IL beat always to rush to the
aearest water and completely submergs
one's salt.
Str nge to aay. in spite Of the hornets
peculiarlties and oarnivorous instincts it
has one friend in the insect world. It isa
large black coleuptera. the KIeius dtlat0.
tu*, distinguished BY the peculiarly that,
when disturbed. it drops its body and
trails It on the ground like little lizard.
This insect follows the wasp in the even.
Ing into the ne t, of which it makes it.
self the p otect0r. 1t furiously attacks oil
insects that are hurtful +, the young
waaps, especially the oentipsdes, which
they continue to shake long after the in
sect has been torn to death by their power
ful ,nandib!ea. It is also possible that the
strong otlor OF muck about the pst!eiss may
knA mt Ah~