. Insect architecture : to which are added, miscellanies, on the ravages, the preservation for purposes of study, and the classification, of insects . which ren-dered the mass ductile, and the separation of the grainseasy to the double pickaxe of the little pioneers. When this wasp has detached a few grains of themoistened sand, it kneads them together into a pelletabout the size of one of the seeds of a gooseberry. Withthe first pellet which it detaches, it lays the foundationof a round tower, as an outwork, immediately over themouth of its nest. Every pellet which it afterwardscarries off fr
. Insect architecture : to which are added, miscellanies, on the ravages, the preservation for purposes of study, and the classification, of insects . which ren-dered the mass ductile, and the separation of the grainseasy to the double pickaxe of the little pioneers. When this wasp has detached a few grains of themoistened sand, it kneads them together into a pelletabout the size of one of the seeds of a gooseberry. Withthe first pellet which it detaches, it lays the foundationof a round tower, as an outwork, immediately over themouth of its nest. Every pellet which it afterwardscarries off from the interior is added to the wall of thisouter round tower, which advances in height as the holein the sand increases in depth. Every two or threeminutes, however, during these operations, it takes ashort excursion, for the purpose, probably, of replenish-ing its store of fluid wherewith to moisten the sand. Yetso little time is lost, that Reaumur has seen a mason-waspdig in an hour a hole the length of its body, and at thesame time build as much of its round tower. For thegreater part of its height this round tower is perpen- MASON-3EES. 35. Nests, Sec, of Mason-Wasps.—About half the natural , Tlie tower of the nest; b, the entrance after the tower is removed;c,the cell; cell, with a roll of caterpillars prepared for the larva. dicular; but towards the summit it bends into a curve,corresponding to the bend of the insects body, which,in all cases of insect architecture, is the model pellets which form the walls of the tower are notvery nicely joined, and numerous vacuities are left be-tween them, giving it the appearance of fillagree it should be thus slightly built is not surprising,for it is intended as a temporary structure for protectingthe insect while it is excavating its hole; and as a pileof materials, well arranged and ready at hand, for thecompletion of the interior building,—in the same waythat workmen make a regular pile of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubje, booksubjectentomology
