WASPS. 127 



are much less distinctly folded in this and the following family 

 than in the Vespidce. 



Family XXI. — Eumenidce. 



Solitary species ; antennae with thirteen distinct joints in the 

 males, and twelve in the females ; fore wings with three sub- 

 marginal cells ; abdomen sometimes petiolated, the second segment 

 large, and the terminal segments often very contractile ; four front 

 tibiae with one spine at the tip ; hind tibiae with two ; claws of 

 the tarsi bifid. 



The Eumenidce are very similar in their habits to the Fossores, 

 forming cells of mud or clay in the ground, which they provision 

 with caterpillars or other insects ; others form their nests in rotten 

 wood, or in the hollow stems of brambles, etc. The best known 

 wasps of this family are those belonging to the great genus 

 Odynerus, Latr., which is found all over the world ; several black 

 species with yellow markings are common in England. 



Family XXII. — Vespidce. 



Social species, consisting of males, females, and neuters ; an- 

 tennae with thirteen distinct joints in the males and twelve in the 

 females; fore wings with three sub-marginal cells; abdomen 

 sometimes petiolated, the second segment large, and the terminal 

 segments often very contractile ; four front tibiae with two spines 

 at the tip ; claws of the tarsi simple. 



The Vespidce, or Social Wasps, are poorly represented in 

 England ; but several genera of very various forms occur in other 

 countries. The species of Belenogaster, Sauss., are large slender 

 species with petiolated abdomen and long wings. They are 

 generally of a greyish or reddish brown, sometimes nearly black, 

 and frequently with yellow markings (but not very extended) on 

 the abdomen. The wings are transparent, yellow, or violet. The 

 species, which measure from one to nearly two inches across the 

 wings, are chiefly natives of Africa. 



The genus Icaria includes a number of smaller wasps, not 

 usually measuring more than half an inch across the wings. They 

 are common in Africa and the East Indies. The petiole is stout, 

 and the hinder segments of the abdomen are generally contracted 

 within the second so completely that it often appears at first sight 

 as if they were broken off. These pretty little wasps are of very 

 various colours ; one species (/. Pomicolor, Sauss.) is of an apple 



