Anthrenae and wasps construct combs for their young. When they
have no king, but are wandering about in search of one, the anthrene
constructs its comb on some high place, and the wasp inside a hole.
When the anthrene and the wasp have a king, they construct their combs
underground. Their combs are in all cases hexagonal like the comb of
the bee. They are composed, however, not of wax, but of a bark-like
filamented fibre, and the comb of the anthrene is much neater than the
comb of the wasp. Like the bee, they put their young just like a
drop of liquid on to the side of the cell, and the egg clings to the
wall of the cell. But the eggs are not deposited in the cells
simultaneously; on the contrary, in some cells are creatures big
enough to fly, in others are nymphae, and in others are mere grubs. As
in the case of bees, excrement is observed only in the cells where the
grubs are found. As long as the creatures are in the nymph condition
they are motionless, and the cell is cemented over. In the comb of the
anthrene there is found in the cell of the young a drop of honey in
front of it. The larvae of the anthrene and the wasp make their
appearance not in the spring but in the autumn; and their growth is
especially discernible in times of full moon. And, by the way, the
eggs and the grubs never rest at the bottom of the cells, but always
cling on to the side wall.