The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-11-26
WASPS AS F.APERM- Kris.
Wonders of Nest-Eavoc Dy t-4o
Insects-Ways to Destroy.

1t Is the last lrElnT act UI Inc COLL
mon wasps in every colony to elect
certain number Of their lady fellows
and 90 through the process Of ''feed-
inc them up.' for wasp queen
earns that title simple by reason Of
her size. and not because Of any
claim to astistocratic descent. This
feeding lasts the queen wasps all the
winter through, during which time
they hibernate il some warm corner
out of the way of frost and snow.
saws the Pail Mall Gazette.
About March they come forth once
more and proceed to look about for
nesting place. Having chosen
site fer this-generally in hollow
tree or in some sheltered and sunny
corner among the dry rubbish-the
queen forms a cocoon Of "Wasp pa
per- wherein sne constructs about
dozen cells and lays an egg in each.
In due time the eggs become grubs,
and these are fed assiduously by the
queen mother until they completely
fill the cell. The latter is then seal
ed up, and in a few days each grub,
which meanwhile mas developed
wings and legs, and changed from
white to yellow-and-black, emerges
as a grown-up wasp.
The real work of nest building now
begins. and the whole party go off
together in search Of convenient
hole in the ground for the permanent
headquarters. This, at least, IS
what the common wasp does. There
are several varieties in Great Britain,
and some Of them build on the branch
Of a tree or in the grass Of a bank.
The little family works very hard to
manufacture the material Of which
the nest IS made-a wonderful sub
stance Of the texture Of paper pulp
ed up from the bark Of trees in the
wasps' mouths. The wasp was MAX
ing paper from wood pulp tor CEN
turies before maa thought of it! This
nest proper contains a large amount
of "comb" and in each cell the queen
lays an egg.
Things now proceed apace, the
feeding of the grubs and sealing them
up in their cells going on as before,
but the queen is now assisted in her
labors by her dozen or so original sub
jects, and the others join in the work
as they hatch out. As the summer
advances the nest gets stronger in
numbers until the very end OF the
season, and then some Of the grubs
never see the light. A wasps' nest
may contain as many as 10000 wasps,
but an average nest would be about
i:alf that number.
Wasps are sucil hard-worklng little
creatures that it seems a sin to de-
stroy their wonderful labor, for the
nest is a triumph Of architectural
skill. At the same time, they COM
nit such havoc in orchards and are
so troublesome everywhere where
food or drink is to be found that ev-
ery mans hand is against them. They
seldom sting unless molested or touch
ed by accident.
A certain amount of good is done
bv wasps in killing noNious insects.
especially house flies, but this one
good act is quite overbalanced by
their many deeds Of evil. All sorts
Of methods are adopted, therefore, to
DESTROY them at night time in their
nests, bat the very best plan of all is
to procure some cyanide Of potassium
"a deadly poiso:1) from chemist,
and place a teaspoonful within the
hole that leads to the nest, afterward
sealing the entra nee with a sod of
turf. Next morning eTry wasp will
be dead, and the nest may be dug out
and destroyed, brood comb and all.