Wasps and their ways . a, where the dry season lasts the life-time of the wasps, one large species ofVespa builds its nest of mud. When therains come the queens hide away, ready tostart a new nest at the beginning of thenext dry season. 138 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS In Demerara, where the storms are vio-lent, the nests are often covered with ahard case, one species making a beautifulwhite, polished cardboard-nest, so strongand compact that it can withstand thehardest rainstorm. This nest isusually broadest at the top, andis entered by a hole in thebottom. The combs are very regular in form, and ver
Wasps and their ways . a, where the dry season lasts the life-time of the wasps, one large species ofVespa builds its nest of mud. When therains come the queens hide away, ready tostart a new nest at the beginning of thenext dry season. 138 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS In Demerara, where the storms are vio-lent, the nests are often covered with ahard case, one species making a beautifulwhite, polished cardboard-nest, so strongand compact that it can withstand thehardest rainstorm. This nest isusually broadest at the top, andis entered by a hole in thebottom. The combs are very regular in form, and very prettily placed within their protecting walls. It is said the mocking-birds build their nests above those of the card-board wasps to secure their young from the attacks of monkeys. Monkeys are fond of young birds, butseldom would one be hardy enough totry for a meal by climbing over a waspsnest! The mocking birds are not the only oneswise enough to make the wasps their gar-rison of defence, for there is a little fly-. WASP ARCHITECTURE 139 catcher in South America that makes itshome close to the nest of one of the socialwasps. There is a South American wasp thatbuilds its combs in concentric spheres,instead of in horizontal layers, and thisthickly packed interior is surrounded andprotected by a very thin wall. Another social wasp builds its combalong the trunk of a tree, covering it overwith an outer shell. A pretty little nest is found in SouthAmerica attached to the under side of alarge, strong leaf. It consists of one flatcomb of tiny cells covered over by a hardshell or wall. Indeed there seems to be no end to thevariety in form, size and material of thenests of the social waspsin diflferent parts of theworld, and the travellerin tropical countrieswill do well to remem-
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