Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-12-24
THE LITTLE ONES,
4 Department Replete With
Good Things for Young
Readers.
FUN, FICTION, AND WISDOM.
"What johnny Bought at the Fair" a Yer,
Funny Story-"Wasps," Their
HCb,ts, Etc.
lJiasls.

Wasps.
ooh, Aunt Mary, just come and sec
what Carrie aud 1 have foundp ex.
claimed Nellie Graham, rushing into
the room where her aunt was sowing.
"What have you found, Nellie ?" she
asked, as she rose to follow her little
niece.
"Wcll, I don't know exactly what it
is, auntie," answered the little girl,
leading her aunt down through the
garden. ut is great, big gray ball,
that looks Us if it was made of paper,
and it is fastened on a branch of the
big tree down at the end of the garden.
Carrie and 1 were going to see if we
could knock it down by throwing sticks
at it, but we saw some wasps crawling
over it, and we were afraid to-"
at is we'll that you did not throw
anything at it," answered her aunt. "It
is wasps' nest, and if you had made
them angry they might have stung you
very badly"
They soon came to the tree and Car
RE pointed out the object of her curl
osity to her aunt. 1t was an unusually
large wasps' nest, and the insects were
swarming in and out, looking quite
formidable enough to deterany one from
touching their fortress.
Didn't you ever see wssps' nest be-
fore?" asked Aunt Mary Of her little
niece, who was seated on the fence,
viewing the wasps with curiosity
mingled with little fear
"No, ma'am," answered Carrie.
"Auntie, where do they gettheir nest Q"
"They make it," was the answer.
The two girls looked al the nest in
incredulous wonder 1t did not seem
possible that an insect as small as the
wasp could build such a large nest.
"Why, it's made of paper, isn't it 2"
queried Nellie. i'll surprise.
"They make the paper, too," said
Aunt Mary, smiling at their astonish-
ment.
Il will tell you how they make it.
The wasps are furnished with broad,
powerful mandibles or pincers, and with
these they tear off small particles Of
woody fiber from gate posts, palings, or
the bark of trees. This they mix into
a soft pulp with 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 that
separates these cells is generally
thicker and firmer than that Oh the out
side Of the nest. AS the end is enlarged,
new paper is made for the purpose, the
whole nest being enclosed in the last
made envelope, while the inner one is
removed to make place for more cells.
The nests of wasps in tropical countries
are sometimes very large-often six
feet long-and they are inhabited by
very large families of wasps"
Glow much paper those big nests
must take" said Carrie.
Eyes, paper-making is the principal
industry Of these little insects" an
swered her aunt. each one of them
has his own share of work to do, and SO,
little by little, the great nest is built. +"
"What do wasps eat?"
"Wasps will eat great VARIETY Of
both animal and vegetable food," an
swercd Aunt Mary. "They will eat in
sects, ripe fruit, sugar, and they often
invade bee-hives and steal the honey.
There is a Brazilian species of wasp
that is known to store up honey like
bees"
aren't hornets and wasps very
much alike?" asked Carrie.
Eyes, answered Aunt Mary. "The
hornet is the largest species of wasp,
and is found in the south of England
Now, girls, Unjust run back to my sew
ing; l will leave you here to watch the
wasps ii you want to, and there is one
very useful lesson that I hope you will
learn from them"
"What is that, Aunt Mary?" asked
the children together.
Remember that great things are
made up Of little ones," answered Aunt
Mary. Gone little wasp alone could
not have built that great nest, but by
each doing little, the work is accom-.
plished. "-Christia1e Advocate.