Chapter 15 insect mind wasp

1. Their Cleverness and Stupidity One day in September, my youngest son Paul and I ran out to see a wasp's nest. Paul Jr.'s excellent eyesight, combined with his exceptional concentration, helped us to observe well.The two of us admired the scenery on both sides of the trail with great interest. Suddenly, Little Paul pointed to a place not far away and shouted at me: "Look! A wasp's nest. Over there, a wasp's nest is clearer than anything else!" Sure enough, in about two Ten yards away, little Paul saw something moving very fast, jumping up from the ground one by one, and immediately flew away quickly, as if a small crater about to erupt was hidden in the grass, and it was about to explode. Just spray them out one by one.

We approached that spot cautiously and slowly, for fear of accidentally alarming these ferocious animals and causing them to pay attention and attack us. In that case, the consequences would be disastrous. There is a round gap near the door of the dwelling of these little animals.The mouth is about the size of a human thumb.Those who live in the same room come and go, come in and go out, fly back and forth in opposite directions one after another, busy all the time. Suddenly, with a "poof", I was taken aback, but immediately woke up again.It occurred to me that we are in a very unsafe moment right now.If we get too close to observe their whereabouts, it will cause bad consequences.Because, such an uninvited guest will make them uneasy, and will provoke these quick-tempered fighters to attack us.Therefore, we dare not observe any more.To observe further means to "sacrifice" more things.

Little Paul and I remembered the location so that we could observe it after sunset.When the sun goes down, all the occupants of this nest should return home from the wild.That way, we can observe better. When a man decides to subdue a wasp's nest, it is a risky business if he does not act with careful and deliberate deliberation.A half-pint of oil, a nine-inch empty reed pipe, and a lump of clay of considerable firmness, made up all my armament.Another point that must be mentioned is that the previous several small observation studies have accumulated a little bit of successful experience.All of these items and experiences are the simplest and the best for me.

One method is crucial to me, and that is the method of choking.Unless I intend to make sacrifices which I cannot bear.Otherwise, I must master the method of suffocation.When Ramut wanted to put a living wasp's nest in a glass box and observe the habits of the cohabitants inside, he did not do it himself, but chose another method, hiring a helper to assist him in the experiment .This helper is often engaged in this miserable work.In order to get generous rewards, he is willing to sacrifice his skin to provide paid sexual services to scientists.However, I intend to sacrifice my skin. I thought twice before digging out the hive I wanted.Then, I started my plan.I first suffocate the inhabitants of the hive so that the dead wasps cannot sting.It's a cruel method, but it's also a very safe method that keeps me out of danger.I use oil because it's stimulant without being overpowering.

Because I'm going to do an observation, I hope to leave some undead wasps, otherwise, if you keep observing the dead objects, all previous efforts will be wasted.The only problem now is how to pour the oil into the nest where the hives are.The openings of the hives are about nine inches long, and run almost parallel to the ground, leading down to the hive in the ground.It would be a great mistake to pour oil directly over the mouth of the tunnel, and it would have extremely serious consequences.why?The main reason is that such a small amount of oil will be absorbed by the soil and cannot reach the nest in the ground.Thus, on the following day, when we imagine, by imagining, that it must be safe to dig and open up the nest, we run into great danger.We'd run into a swarm of hornets circling under our shovels, posing a certain threat to us.

A nine-inch empty reed pipe already in place could have prevented this unfortunate event from happening.When this empty reed pipe was inserted into the tunnel about nine inches long, it formed an automatic water diversion pipe.Therefore, the oil can flow into the soil hole along the conduit without any leakage, and the speed is very fast.Then, we use a piece of soil that has been squeezed in advance, like a bottle stopper, to plug the entrance and exit of the hole, and cut off the back road of these wasps.That's all we have to do, and all that's left is to wait. When we got ready to do the work, it was nine o'clock in the dim moonlit night, and little Paul and I went out together.We only brought a lamp and a basket of tools that we needed.At that time, the farm dogs could still be heard barking at each other, the owls hooted on the high branches of the olive trees, and the crickets kept playing beautiful music in the thick grass.Little Paul and I were talking about insects.He asked me many questions with eagerness and curiosity.In order not to let him down, I told him everything I knew and helped him learn to enrich his knowledge and satisfy his interests.Such a happy night of wasp hunting made us forget about sleep and the pain of being attacked by wasps.

Inserting the reed pipe into the soil hole is a delicate job that requires some skill.Because the direction of the tunnel is unknown, it takes a lot of suspicion and exploration.And sometimes, the doorman in the Hornets' guard room would fly out in sudden alertness and unceremoniously attack the palm of the unsuspecting person who was doing the job.In order to prevent this kind of unprepared accident from happening, one of the little Paul and I stood guard on the sidelines, always vigilant, and kept driving away the attacking enemies with handkerchiefs.In this way, even if one person is unfortunately hit on the hand in the end, and there is a bulge, even if it is very painful, it is an ideal price, not a big price, and it can still be tolerated.

After the oil had flowed into the cavities, we heard the astonishing noise of the bees from below.Then, very quickly, we sealed the tunnels with wet mud, stomping one foot at a time, making the seals impenetrable, so that they had no escape.Now, there is nothing else to do.So, little Paul and I ran back to sleep and rested. Early the next morning, we took a hoe and a shovel, and returned to the old place again.It is better to go earlier, because there may be many wasps wandering outside at night, and they may fly back while we are digging, which is bad, because this will be a threat to us again.In addition, the cold air in the morning can somewhat weaken their ferocity and prestige.

Before the tunnel, the reed pipes were still inserted there, and little Paul and I dug a trench, just wide enough to accommodate the two of us, and it was very convenient to move.So, we started digging from both sides of the ditch.Carefully scrape off piece by piece.Later, after digging about twenty inches deep, the hive was exposed.It hung in the middle of the ridge of the burrow, and it was not damaged at all, and it hung there in good condition, which really pleased us. This is really a magnificent and beautiful building!It's almost as big as a big pumpkin.Except for the top part, all sides are suspended, and there are many roots growing on the top, most of which are thatch roots, which penetrate the deep "wall" and enter the wall, and are connected with the honeycomb, which is very solid.If the ground in that place is soft, its form will be round, and its parts will be equally firm.If the ground in that place is gravel, the wasp will encounter certain obstacles in digging, and the shape of the hive will change accordingly, or at least it will not be so neat.

Next to the low nest and basement there is often a hand-width gap, which is the wide street.The builders, here free to move, went on without ceasing their respective labors, making their nests larger and stronger with their own hands.The tunnel leading to the outside also leads here.Under the honeycomb, there is a larger gap, which is round in shape, just like a large round basin, which can increase its volume when the honeycomb is expanded to a new house.There is another use for this cavity, which is a dustbin for discarded items.It seems that the basic construction here is relatively complete.

This crypt was dug out by the wasps themselves with their own "hands".There is no doubt about this.Because such a large and neat cave is not readily available in nature.In the beginning, the wasp who first opened this nest probably took advantage of the burrow made by the mole, and borrowed it for the convenience of starting the construction.However, most of the work of building the nest is performed by the wasps themselves.In fact, however, some of the excavated dirt did not accumulate beyond the gates of the hive.So, where does the soil dug up by the wasps go?The answer is: they have been abandoned in the vast wild, unnoticed.Thousands of wasps were involved in excavating this magnificent structure and, when necessary, enlarging it.When these millions of wasps fly out, each one has a particle of earth attached to his body, which is scattered on the ground far away from the nest.Consequently, no trace of the excavated earth could be seen at all.Therefore, the hive looks like a piece of pure land. A wasp's nest is made of a thin, flexible material.The material is splinters of wood, much like a kind of brown paper.It has strips on it, the color of which depends on the wood used.If the hive is made of a whole piece of "paper", it can be planted a little to resist the cold and keep warm.But the wasps, like the people who make the balloon, understand that the temperature can be maintained by the air contained in the various shells.Therefore, the wasps make their low nests in the shape of wide scales, spread loosely one by one, showing many layers, and the whole hive forms a rough blanket, thick and porous, and its The interior contains a large amount of air.In this way, the temperature in the shell must be very high when the weather is very hot. The Hornet, the leader of the Hornets, builds its own nest on the same principle.In the holes of the willow tree, or in the hollow shell, it uses fragments of wood and makes fragile yellow cardboard.It uses this material to wrap its own nest.Layers overlap each other, like a large raised scale, you can imagine how warm this is!There is ample space in the middle of this large scale, and the air stays inside and does not flow. The movements of the wasps often coincide with laws of physics and geometry.They can use air, a poor conductor, to keep their home warm.They have been made long before man thought of making blankets, and they are still very skilled. When they build the outer walls of their nests, they only need a very small periphery to make many rooms. Their small rooms The same is true, its area and materials are very economical. Yet, notwithstanding their ingenuity, it is strange to us how helpless and stupid they were when they encountered the smallest difficulty.On the one hand, they benefit from the instincts of nature to guide them to act like scientists; on the other hand, they are obviously completely incapable of reflection, and their intelligence is quite low.I have proved this fact by various experiments. The wasps happened to have their house next to the road in my garden, so I was able to use a glass enclosure for my experiment.In the fields I could not make use of this apparatus, for country children would soon break it, and spoil my well-prepared experiments.One night, it was already dark, and the wasps had already gone home.I smoothed out the dirt and put a glass dome over the wasp's burrow.The next morning, the hornets went to work as usual.When they find their flight impeded, can they dig another way under the edge of the glass cover?Did these hardy animals, capable of digging vast burrows, know that by creating a short tunnel they could set themselves free?This is the crux of our problem.So, how did it turn out? The next morning, I saw that the warm and bright sunlight had fallen on the glass cover.These workers have come up from the ground in groups, eager to go out to find their food.However, they hit the transparent "wall" again and again, fell down, and came up again.In this way, groups flew around and kept trying, never wanting to give up.Some of them, weary from dancing, walked around grumpily for a while, and then went back to the house again.Some, when the sun is hotter, bump around instead of the former.That's how the shifts work.However, in the end, none of the wasps was so wise and courageous that they could stretch out their limbs to grab and dig the soil around the edges of the glass cover and open up new ways to make a living.This means that they cannot manage to escape.How limited their intelligence is. At this time, a few wasps who had spent the night outside returned from the field.They hovered and danced around the glass cover, hesitating all the time, not knowing what to do.One of them took the lead and decided to dig under the glass cover, and the other wasps followed suit.So, everyone worked together, and soon, a new passage was easily opened up.They also ran in and finally got home.So, I blocked this new road with soil.Assuming that the narrow passage can be seen from the inside, of course it will help the wasp inside the enclosure to escape easily.I am willing to let these prisoners strive for the glory of freedom through their own observation and efforts, enjoy the joy of being bathed in the sun, and appreciate the beauty of nature. No matter how poorly the wasp's comprehension ability is.I think their escape should now be possible.Those wasps that just entered will of course guide the path, and they will instruct other wasps to dig under the glass cover in order to escape from the cage as soon as possible. However, the reality is not so optimistic.I am very disappointed that the lovely wasps have no attempt to imitate and learn from experience and example.In that glass enclosure, there was no sign of continuing to dig the escape route—the tunnel.These small insects were just flying around in circles, without any plan or purpose, they just bumped into each other blindly, huddled together without knowing what happened.Many poor wasps die every day from starvation and heat.A week later, unfortunately, not a single live wasp survived, and the whole army was wiped out.A heap of dead bodies was spread out on the ground, and its condition was particularly grim. Wasps returning from the field can find a new way to return to their homes without difficulty.The reason for this is that they can smell their home from outside the dirt and go looking for it.This is a manifestation of the wasp's natural instinct to find ways to get into the arms of the home, or a method of defense for them.This requires no thought or explanation.Since the little wasp first came to this world, all the obstacles on the ground have been familiar to every wasp. But for those wasps who are unfortunate enough to be enclosed in a glass enclosure, there is no such instinct to help them escape from danger.Their purpose is clear and singular.They want to go in the sun and go to the wild for food.They are enclosed in a glass enclosure, and in this transparent prison, they can see the daylight, and they are deceived into thinking that their purpose has been fully achieved.Although they have worked hard for several times, they are going forward indomitably, constantly contending and colliding with the glass cover, with infinite hope in their hearts, and want to fly a little further towards the sun.to find much-needed food.But in fact it is useless.In their past experience, there is no experience and practice to guide them how to act when they encounter this situation.So they have no choice but to blindly cling to the old habits they were born with, so that the hope of life is getting smaller and smaller, and they gradually push themselves to helpless death. 2. Several habits of them If we open the thick bag of the hive, we can see that there are many hives hidden inside. The small rooms on several floors are arranged up and down, and the middle is closely connected with solid pillars. The number is not certain.In the later period of a certain season, there are probably ten floors, or a little more.The mouths of each small room are downward.In this strange-looking little world, the young bees, whether they sleep or eat, grow with their heads downward, that is, upside down. The floor by floor is the beehive floor, and there is a large space to separate them.Between the outer shell and the hive, there is a doorway that communicates with each part.There are often many guardians in and out, responsible for caring for the larvae in the hive.On one side of the shell, stands the gate of this colorful city, a crack that has not been decorated too much, hidden in the thin scales wrapped.Directly facing this gate is the entrance and exit of the tunnel leading from the depths of the crypt to the vast world outside. In the wasp society, there are a large number of wasps living.Their whole lives are completely devoted to tireless work.Their main duty is to keep expanding the hive to accommodate new citizens as the population continues to increase.Although they do not have their own larvae, they care for the larvae in the nest with great care and diligence. In order to be able to observe how they work, and what happens to them as winter approaches, I place under the covers a few fragments of nests, inhabited by many eggs and larvae, in October, and There are more than a hundred worker bees watching them carefully. In order to facilitate observation, I divided the hives so that the mouths of the small rooms were facing upwards, and then placed them side by side.Such an upside-down arrangement did not seem to bother my prisoners. They quickly adapted to the disturbed situation, resumed their original spatial state, and resumed their busy and hard work. Something happened like that. In fact, they certainly need to build a little more.So, I chose a piece of cork to give them, and fed them with honey to meet their needs.Use a large earthen pot covered with wire instead of the soil hole that hides the hive.Then cover it with a removable cardboard dome, making the interior rather dark.Of course, I remove it when I need it to be brighter. The wasps went about their daily tasks as if they had never been disturbed.While the worker bees take care of the baby bees in the hive, at the same time, they have to take care of their own houses.They worked hard together and began to slowly build a new iron wall.This wall surrounds their most closed cells.It seemed that they were going to rebuild a new shell, as a new shell, to replace the old shell that I destroyed with the shovel.However, these worker bees are not simply tinkering, they start their work from the place I destroyed.They quickly built a curved paper-scale roof, which then covered about a third of the hive.If this small hive has not been destroyed by me, then the roof built by these worker bees is enough to connect to the shell.The roof they made with their own hands is not big enough to cover only part of the entire small room. As for the piece of cork I had carefully prepared for them in advance, they ignored it at all, and didn't even touch it, as if it didn't exist at all.Perhaps this "new" material is inconvenient for the wasp to use.They would rather abandon it and continue to use the old nest that has been abandoned, which is more convenient and handy.Because in these old little nests, there is no need to painstakingly re-make fibers, because they are already ready, convenient and practical.Just take the doctrine.Moreover, they don't need to waste a lot of saliva, they only need a relatively small amount of saliva, and then chew a few times carefully with their big gills, and then form a fine-textured paste, which is quite a good building material. In the next step, together they destroy the uninhabited cubbies to pieces.Then, use these scraps to make something like a canopy.If necessary, they will use the same method again to build new small rooms for living and activities. Even more interesting than their concerted effort to build a roof is feeding grub larvae.Just now, they were rough, strong and hard-working fighters, but now they have transformed into gentle and considerate little nanny.Seeing these, no one will feel tired and disgusted.All of a sudden, the barracks-like nest full of fighting atmosphere immediately turned into a warm nursery.It's so funny! Feeding a cute, weak baby requires considerable patience and care.If we fix our attention only to a busy wasp, we can clearly observe that its crop is full of honey.It stopped in front of a small room, and its appearance was very interesting. It slowly stretched its small head into the hole, and then gently touched one of the holes with the tip of its tentacles. small larvae.The baby slowly woke up, and seemed to see the tentacles delivered by the wasp, so it opened its mouth slightly towards it.It looks like a baby bird that has just been born, its feathers are not yet plump, and it is still young, and it is stretching out its small beak to its mother who has just worked so hard to find food for it, eagerly asking for food. People feel a warm feeling. After a while, the little baby who had just woken up from a dream shook its head back and forth, eager to explore the food it desperately needed immediately, which can be regarded as its instinctive nature.However, it is exploring blindly, testing the food provided by the wasps outside again and again.You can imagine the eagerness of the little baby, and finally the two small mouths came into contact.A drop of juice flowed from the mouth of the "little nanny" and flowed into the little mouth of the care receiver.Just this little bit is enough for a little baby to enjoy.Now, it's the second baby wasp's turn to feed.So, the little nanny ran off to another place without stopping, and continued to perform its sacred duties. Babies enjoy most of the honeydew after the mouth-to-mouth transfer of food.However, the feeding is not completely over, they are not finished enjoying yet.Because, when feeding, the larva's chest temporarily inflates, acting like a bib or napkin, and dripping everything from the mouth onto it.This way, after the nanny leaves, the babies will lick the base of their own necks, suck the honey dripping on their chests, and enjoy the delicious food to their heart's content without wasting any food.After most of the honeydew has been swallowed, the swelling of the larvae's chest will naturally disappear.The larva then retracts a little further into the hive and continues on to its sweet dreamland. When the wasps were feeding their babies in my cage, the larvae were head-up, and what was missing from their tiny mouths would naturally drip onto their bibs.As for feeding them in the hive, their little heads are down, but I have no doubts that in this head down position the napkins of the little larvae are still functional, and , the effect is the same.This is because when the larva is in the hive, its head is not straight, but slightly curved.Therefore, the honey juice overflowing from their mouths is likely to accumulate on that small bib.Also, the spilled honeydew is very viscous and will stick to the bib in no time.At the same time, it is also possible for the careful little nanny to put down some food in this place.So, it doesn't matter whether the little larva's head is facing down or up.Whether the bib is above or below the mouth, this will not prevent the bib from fully performing its function.The main reason for this is that this food product is very sticky and adheres firmly to the bib.Therefore, it can be said that this small bib is simply a convenient and timely small dish, which can reduce the difficulty of feeding and avoid many unnecessary troubles.Provide convenience for our little nannies, save them labor and time, and it can also enable the little larvae to enjoy their delicious food comfortably and peacefully until they are full of food and satisfaction.There is another advantage, that is, it will not let the babies eat too much, and the belly will be broken and die young. If you are in the wild and in nature, when the year is coming to an end, the number of fruits is very small, and some are not harvested.In this case, most baby sitters pick other foods to continue feeding the young larvae.Most of them choose flies, cut them up one by one, and then feed them to the young larvae.However, in the cages I made for them, nothing else was chosen as food for the larvae, and I only provided them with plenty of nutritious honeydew. After eating these honeydews, all caregivers and caretakers seemed to become more energetic.Moreover, once any uninvited guests suddenly break into the hive and attack and invade, they will unfortunately be sentenced to death immediately.Obviously, the wasp is clearly a kind of unhospitable creature, never treating guests favorably, let alone allowing other animals to invade their homes at will.Even the bees called drag-footed bees, whose shape and color are very similar to wasps, if they approach the wasps even a little bit to share their honey, their attempt will soon be thwarted, and they will be killed immediately. Aware of it, the wasps swarmed and attacked it until it was killed.The appearance of the dragging bee cannot deceive the sensitive eyes of the wasp. If the dragging bee does not respond quickly and retreats in time, it will be in a catastrophe and be killed by the wasp.Therefore, it is really not a wise thing to break into the wasp's nest without authorization.Even if the appearance of the visiting guests is very similar to them, and their work is similar to them, it can almost be said that they are part of a group, which is absolutely unacceptable.The Hornets will not easily let go of any uninvited and uninvited so-called guests.Therefore, it is better for other animals to stay away from them. I have seen time and time again the savage treatment of the guests by the wasp. If an uninvited guest enters the country, it is a very lethal and fierce fellow. The corpse will be immediately dragged out of the hive by the bees and thrown into the garbage dump below.However, the wasp does not seem to easily use its poisonous dagger to attack other animals, and it is more merciful.If I throw a sawfly larva into a swarm of wasps, the wasps must be amazed at the green-black dragon-like intruder, which they express great interest in.Next, they attack it, wounding it, but not stabbing it with their poisoned needles.Then all the bees work together to drag it out of the nest.At the same time, this "little dragon" did not admit defeat and continued to resist, using its hook to hook the hive.Sometimes it uses its front feet, sometimes it uses its hind feet.However, in the end, the poor "little dragon" was still too weak because of his injuries, and was eventually pulled out by the powerful wasp.This "little dragon" was very miserable. His small body was covered with blood, and he was dragged to the garbage dump.It was not easy for the wasps to drive away such a poor creature with little strength. It took a full two hours! If, on the contrary, instead of a puny larva I had placed in the hive a comparatively burly larva of a species that dwells in the holes of the cherry tree, the result would have been different.Immediately there will be five or six hornets swarming up, pricking its body with poisonous needles one after another.A little while later, almost a few minutes later, the stronger and more powerful larva finally did not escape its fate, and died.But then a problem arose.This bulky carcass is difficult to carry out of the nest.So the wasps decided it was impossible to move, so they chose other methods, such as eating it, or at least trying to make it lose some weight.So they eat it until the rest can be dragged.Then, you still have to drag it outside and throw it away. 3. THEIR TERRIBLE RESULTS With such ferocious and brutal methods of defending against foreign intruders, and such ingenious and gentle feeding methods, the little larvae in my cages are thriving day by day, The wasp family is thriving day by day.However, there are of course exceptions.In the wasp's nest, there are also some very weak and unlucky little larvae. They grow up and die young before they have experienced the wind and rain in the world and bathed in the warmth of the sun. Through observation, I discovered those weak sick patients, and witnessed that they could not continue to enjoy the honey juice, could not eat, and gradually became haggard and weak.The little nannies knew all this better than I did.Helplessly, they bent their heads down slightly, turned to those poor sick people, tried them carefully with their tentacles, and finally came to the conclusion that these sick people were indeed incurable and irreparable.So, slowly, this weak life gradually came to the end of its life, almost to the point of death.In the end, they were mercilessly dragged from the small room to the outside of the hive.In a society full of savage wasps, the chronically ill are just a piece of useless garbage, the sooner they are dragged out the better, otherwise, there is a possibility of spreading the infection.For the Hornets, that would be terrible.But this is not the worst possibility.Because, as winter is approaching, most of the wasps have a premonition of their future fate.They know that the end is at hand. The very cold nights in November brought changes to the interior of the hive.Enthusiasm for infrastructure construction has gradually waned.To the place where the honey is stored, the wasps engaged in the work of storing honey do not go there frequently.The whole family, all the wasps were gradually left to their own devices.The larvae open their little mouths wide from hunger, but only very sluggish relief awaits, or there are no babysitters willing to come and feed them.A deep melancholy took hold of the young nannies, and their former enthusiasm for the job was gone, and finally turned into disgust.They know that in a short time, everything will become impossible.So, is there any value for the babysitter?Will there be any benefit?Of course, in the minds of care bees, the answer is no.So, the time for hunger came.Bad luck befell the little larvae, who died tragically and alone.Thus, the former gentle and considerate little nurses have become incredible and cruel executioners. Those little sitters would say to themselves, "We don't need to keep a lot of orphans. Soon, when we're all gone from here, who will take care of these poor offspring? No. Since it's the result , then it is better to let us kill all these eggs and small larvae with our own hands. Such a very cruel result is worse than the kind of slow death from starvation, the long-term pain is not as good as the short-term pain!" The next scene of farce was a brutal massacre.The wasps brutally bit the back of the necks of the larvae, and then roughly dragged them out of the small room one by one, dragged them outside the hive, and threw them into the garbage dump under the soil hole outside. The scene was simply horrible! 那些小保姆，也就是工蜂，在把幼虫从小房间中强行拖拉出来时，那种情形之残酷，就好像这些幼虫都是一些从外面来的生客一般，或者是一群已经死掉了的尸体。它们野蛮地拖着小幼虫的尸体，并且还要将它们的尸体扯碎。至于那些小卵，则会被工蜂们撕扯开来，最后把它们吃掉。 在此之后，这些小保姆，即刽子手，毫无生气地留着它们自己的生命。一天一天地，我带着无比的惊奇，注视着我的这些昆虫的最终的结局。非常出乎我的意料，这些工蜂忽然间都死掉了。它们跑到上面，跌倒下来，仰卧着，从此再也没有爬起来，就如同触了电一般。它们也有它们自己的生命周期。它们被时间这个无情无义的毒品毒死了。就算是一只钟表内的机器，当它的发条被放开到最后一圈时，也是会如此的。 工蜂是老了！然而，母蜂是蜂巢中最迟生出来的，它们既年轻，又强壮。所以，当严冬降临，威胁到它们时，它们还仍有能力来抵挡一阵。至于那些末日已经临近的，很容易地就能从它们的外表的病态上分辨出来。在它们的背上，是有尘土沾附着的。在它们尚健壮，还年青的时候，它们一旦发现有尘土附着在身上，就会不停地拂拭，把它们黑色、黄色的外衣清洁得十分光亮。然而，当它们有病时，也就无心注意卫生清洁了。因为已经无暇顾及了。它们或是停留在阳光底下，一动也不动，或者很迟缓地踱来踱去。它们已经不再拂拭它们的衣裳了，因为这已不再重要了，也没有任何意义了。 这种对装束的不在意，就是一种不祥的征兆。过了两三天以后，这个身上带有尘土的动物，便最后一次离开它自己的巢穴。它跑出来，主要是打算再最后享受一点日光的温暖。忽然，它跌倒在地上，一动也不动，再也不能够重新爬起来了。它尽量避免自己死在它所热爱和生存的巢里。这是因为，在黄蜂中，有一种不成文的“法律”规定，那就是巢里是要绝对保持干净整洁的。这个生命即将结束的黄蜂，要自行解决它自己的葬礼。它把自已跌落在土穴下面的坑里。由于要保持清洁卫生，这些苦行主义者，不愿意自己死在蜂房里。至于那些剩余下来的，还没有死去的黄蜂，它们仍然要保留这种习惯，直到它们最终的结局为止。这形成了一种不曾被摒弃的法律条文。无论黄蜂世界中的人口如何增加，或是减少，这一传统总是要保持遵守的。 我的笼子里，一天天地空起来了。虽然这个屋子仍然是暖和的，而且里面还储备有很多的蜜汁，供剩下来的那些健康者食用。但是，到了圣诞节的时候，仅仅剩下了约一打的雌蜂。到一月六日，连最后剩余下来的黄蜂也全都死掉了。 那么，这种死亡是从哪里来的呢？让我的黄蜂统统都倒毙了。它们并没有受过饿，也没有挨过冻，更没有经历过离家的痛苦。那么，它们究意是为了什么而死的呢？ 我们不应该归罪于囚禁，即便是在野外，也会发生同样的事情。在十二月末的时候，我曾到野外去观察过很多的蜂巢，都曾经发生过同样的情况。大量数目的黄蜂，必须要死亡，这并不是因为碰到了什么意外情况，也并不是因为疾病的担扰，或是因为某种气候的摧残影响，而是由于一种不可逃脱的命运，这种命运摧残着它们，这和鼓舞着它们生活下去的力量是一样有力的。不过，它们这样的生命，对于我们人类倒是很有好处的。一只母黄蜂可以创造出一个拥有三万居民的城市。假如全体黄蜂都存活下来，那么，可想而知，这将是一场多么大的灾难啊！若是那样的话，黄蜂就可以在野外构造自己的王国，并且称王施虐了。 到了后期，蜂巢自己会毁灭的。一种将来会变成形状平庸的蛾子的毛虫，一种赤色的小甲虫，还有一种身着鳞状的金丝绒外衣的小幼虫，它们都是有可能攻击，毁灭蜂巢的小动物。它们会利用锋利的牙齿，咬碎一层层小巢的地板，使得整个蜂巢内的所有住房全部崩塌毁坏。最后，剩下来的只有几把尘土和几片棕色的纸片。到了第二年春天到来的时候，黄蜂们便又可以废物利用，白手起家，发挥大自然在建筑房屋方面赋予它们的高度的灵性和悟性，建造起属于它们自己的新家园。新的结构精巧而且十分坚固的城池，其中居住着约有三万居民——一个庞大的家族。它们将一切从零开始。它们将继续繁衍后代，喂养小宝宝，继续抵御外来的侵略，与大自然抗争，为自己的安全而战斗，为蜂巢内部生活的快乐而贡献自己的一份力量。生命不息奋斗不止！