Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-08-03


Ny dear, my native sell.
For whom my v.arineat wish to heav'n is
sent.
Long may thy hardy sons of toll
BE blest with health and peace and sweet
content. Burns.
1t was my good fortune to BE reared
n Il los cabin on the farm OF a pioneer
farmer. We had Very few books to
tead. but the great boo OF nature, rich
with manifold living sre linens for
study. was open to Us. TO that cabin
annually anne a pair of robins and
built their nest under the caves of its
Cupboard roof; a pair of phoehes
.'lilt their nest OIL The cross sticks of
its wooden chimney. and the bluebirds
built q nest in Il box on q pole in the
front yard, erected for their use. In the
"a loft we could study the habits
If the wasps; in hay harvesting we
found the bumblebees; in blowing the
wheat stubble we plowed up the nests
OF yellow Jackets. and on the clearing
me bald or white faced hornets. All
Oh these insects are of kin to the bees
and ants and are members OF the order
OF hymenoptera.
Advanced OreSr OF Insects.
The order of hymenoptera, as a whole
is the most advanced of all of the or
ders of insects, and in this order. ac-
eording to geological records. the wasps
precede In tim the bees, the marvellous
honey makers being the last and the
Aighest product OF the hy~menopteran
evolution. In his connection. Margar-
ct Morley. in her interesting book,
"Wasps and Their Ways" says:
Wasps possess a more versatile. il
lower. intelligence than bees. Bees
nave become c%rystalIized, as it were;
their habits are formed; they have ar
rived at perfection along their line.
and therefore are in a condition OF sus-
pended development. Mo- so with the
wasps-they have not arrived: they are
arriving. So. while bees stand highest
structurally and socially. their COM
Wunitles organized and in working or
der from wax secreting to honey max
ing, wasps are yet blazing a way
through unknown wildernesscs Of
wasp possibilities. They have their
problems to solve and are yet, to a far
greater extent than bees, dependent
upon their wits to see them safely
through their little span of life.
Wasps are divided into two classes.
namely social solitary wasps. and
each of these divisions are subdivided
into those which build their nests above
n below the surface of the ground.
Social wasps are paper makers, and
they use the paper sometimes for the
material OF the nests. and sometimes
where the nest is below the IL for
the lining. The paper is made of wood
taken In tiny splinters from fences and
buildings. chewed into u pulp and
pressed out into sheets with the feet.
Prefer Dark Homes.
! have said that we could study the
wasps in the cabin loft, ard this was
true of members OF each of the diyi-
sions Of the family. They seem to pre-
Ter dark and sheltered places for their
and attached them to the under-
meath part Of the roof. During my
outing at Buzzard's Roost. noticed
them going in nj out of the loft of
the cabins as they Old in our cabin
When i was a boy. At Somerleaze there
Is q cabin which was built by my
motherinlaw GO years ago. 1 climbed
into the loft Of 1t last Sunday and as
l expected, found many wasps' nests
there. ~
The homes of social wasps. which are
putt IN such places are begun by a fe-
male that has survived the severity of
the winter. In form, she is long and
lender and of a brownish black color.
She first constructs a small stalk. stem
or peduncle. which she attaches to the
oo1ect from which the nest is to be
suspended. as a support for 1t. This is
MADE very carefully and strong. The
nests or these wasps arc not large and
nave only a single layer Of cells, and
Ivy lilSlOSCu NtCl an rG
covering. These wasps constitute the
genus called P>listes.
Tho Mason Vases.
The solitary wssps found in s,,c,,
places az cabin lofts. are mason wasps
commonly called mud daubers. and sci
entincaily known as pelopaeus lunatus
Inelr nests consist oe a series OF celia
plastered sid by side on the under side
81 roofs: ceilings and other fiat sur
races. They are constructed of pellets
OF moist clay. Each pellet is laid on
the top of the nest wall by the WASH
and spread out with it's jaws and then
smoothed with its feet. When COM
pleted. the mother wasp deposits an
egg ! n each cell and stores II with
Small spiders and insects. which, she
mas paralyzed by stinging them. These
conseitute the supply Of food for the
iarva while It undergoes the various
changes and becomes a u WASH
When q sufficient supply OF food has
Deen placed in the cell she closes II I'm
ana tt ana closed until the yonnp
wasp works its way out.
The yellow Jacket.
yellow Jackets. vespa germanica and
cuneata are species Of the social wasn
family. They build their nests in excap
vations In and about old stumps. loss.
ana IN open helds that have been cult.
~ 0Ilu OIllCF small grains.
They are about twice the Size Of the
common ny. Their general col
OF y yellow. with bands Of black
around tne abdomen. Some years then
are very abundant. The under cronnd
nests are frequently large. Sometime
more than the size OF q hair h,.haI
basket. h loose paper coverinr which
the nest II not touch and
tnick like that Of the white Faced hnr-
net. Tney Are the cause OF much
tronnIe 70 farmers when doing their fail
piowin9 Their temper II hot and their
sting hotter" The story soes hat nnn