Animal Intelligence

Abstract

IN NATURE for July 22, on p. 265, Mr. Frederick Lewis calls attention to a nest-building wasp who closed up her nest without filling it first with grubs or laying an egg. There is nothing uncommon in this neglect on the part of the wasp, as any one who has at all studied their habits in the tropics will know, such perfectly empty nests being frequently met with. I have often thought the empty nest might have something to do with the fact that the wasp may not have been prepared to deposit her egg; but then, if that were the case, we should occasionally find nests with the remains of the caterpillars or spiders collected. When a wasp has once chosen a site for building, it is very difficult to drive her away.