The Grenada gazette., 1885-10-17
ABOUT WASPS,

How They Make the Material for and
Build Their Nests.
''Oh, Uncle George, just come and
see what sam and found" exclaimed
little Alfred, rushing into his uncle
study one bright Saturday morning.
Uncle George laid down hi pen with
smile. "What have YOU found, Al
tred9' he asked, as he ros9 to follow
ais little nephew.
"Well, don'tknow exactly what i is.
Uncle George answered the little boy,
,eadjng his uncle through the garden.
at is a great biz gray ball hat look, As
# it is made Of paper, and it i, fastened
on branch of the big apple tree down
at the end Of the orchard. sam and |
were going to throw stones at it, hnt
we saw some waSpS crawling over it,
and we were afraid TO.
1T is very well that you did not
throw any stones at it, answered his
unclc. 1T is q wa,ps' nest, and if you
had made them angry they might have
Stung you very badly"
They soon came to the tree, and Al
red pointed out the object of their
curiosity to his uncle. 1t was an un-
usually large wasps' nests, and the in
'ccts We're swarming in and out, look
M quite formidable enough to deter
any one from touching their fortress.
'Dldn you ever see a wasp>' nest
before, Sam?' asked Uncle George Of
MS youngest nephew, who was seated
IN the fence viewing the wasps with
curiosity mingled with Il little fear
NO, sir answered sam. "Uur,c
George, where do they get their n,st:?"
"They make it, was the answer
Alfred and sam looked at the nest in
ncredulous wonder. It did not seem
possible that an insect As small as the
wasp could build such large nest
"Why it's made of paper, isn't it?'
asked sam, at length
''I.ct us sit down here a little while
and l will tell you how they MAKE it.
The Wa>p5 are furnished with broad,
powerful mandiblcs. or pinccrs, and
with these they tear OFT small particles
Of woody fiber from gato-po>t>, palNgs
or the bark of trees. This they mi\
into soft pulp wi,l their saliva, and
with this pulp they construct the nest.
The inside of the nest Is divided into
little combs or cells, and the substance
,hat separates these cells is generally
thicker and tirmtr than tha' on the out
side of the nest As the nc~t IS enlarged
new paper is made for the purpose, the
whole nest being inclo>cd II the last
made envelope, and th' inner one is re-
moved to make place for more cells.
The nests of wasps in tropical coun-
tries are sometimes very large often six
feet long, and they ar inhabited by
very large families of wa>p>
How much paper those big nests
must takc.." exclaimed SAM who had
been d, cplv interested IN hi> uncle's ac-
count.
Yes, paper making IS the principal
industry Of these little insects,
answeicl his uncle. Each one Of
them has his own share Of work to do,
and so, little by little, the crra, ncs. is
ouilt'
"What do wasps eat" asked Alfred
"WaspS will eat grrat variety OF
both animal and vegetable fuod,'
answered Uncle George.
"Thcy will eat insects, ripe fruit,
sugar, and they often invade D'p-hivc>
md steal the honey. There is Brazil.
ian species of wasp that Is An,wn to
store up honey like bees. .
"Aren't hornets and wasIs very much
alike?' asked sam.
EYES, answered Uncle George.
The hornet is the largest species OF
wasp, and found in the south of En-
gland. Now, boys, | must 70 back to
my writing. | will leave you here to
watch the wasps if You want to, and
there is one very useful lesson that |
lope You will learn from thcm.'
'What is that, Uncle Gcorgc?' asked ,
the boys together.
"Rcmcmbcr that grra. things are
made up of little ones" answered |
Uncle George, "Onc wasp alone could !
not build that great nest, but by each |
doing little the work is accom-
plShed. '-.S. $. Visitor.