6 



sandy places in the very hottest sunshine. They capture Diptera 

 with which to provision their cells. The thirty or more species of 

 Crahro also make use of Diptera in providing sustenance for their 

 larvae. Many of the smaller species of this large genus, such as 

 C. tibialis, C. clavipes; and C. capitotiiis nest usually in perforated 

 bramble stems. Others burrow into decaying wood. An old 

 decaying trunk of a tree on a bright day in June is almost certain 

 to produce a number of species. Others, again, like the common 

 C. cribrarius, C. peltarius, and one or two rarer species, prefer to 

 burrow in the ground. C. dhiiidiatus is very fond of holes in old 

 brick or stone walls, and I have found a number of this species 

 going into one hole. At one house, where I lived for a short time, 

 I noticed this species going into a hole between two large blocks of 

 stone, and counted as many as six going in before one came out 

 again. As I was not able to mark any of the individuals, I could 

 not be certain how many made use of this hole, but the number 

 could not have been less than six, and I feel pretty certain that 

 there were many more. Possibly the hole led to a large cavity, in 

 the sides of which each individual had its burrow. Most of the 

 Crabros can oe found sunning themselves on leaves, and they are 

 very fond of umbelliferous flowers, especially Heraclenm. 



The true Wasps consist of two British families, the Vespidae 

 and the Knwenidae. The first contains the Social Wasps, which, 

 seven in number, are all placed in the genus Vespa. At least, they 

 are usually so placed, though the rare and aberrant V. aiixtriaca is 

 sometimes separated as Pseiidovespa. The Social Wasps are most 

 numerous at the end of the summer, the males and workers dying 

 off rapidly with the approach of cold weather, the females, or 

 queens only, hibernating. These emerge in the spring, sometimes 

 even making their appearance on a fine warm day in January, 

 About March or April, according to the weather, the banks and 

 hedgerows are explored for suitable nesting sites. A small hole in 

 a bank being approved of, a few cells are constructed and eggs laid. 

 These soon hatch, and the queen feeds the larvae, constructs new 

 cells, and does all the general housework. In about a month the 

 earliest of the workers emerge and take on the work of cleaning 

 and feeding. As the population increases, more and more cells are 

 constructed until the approach of autumn. I do not know whether 

 the eggs are lajd in the cell, or first laid and then carried to the 

 cell, but I fancy the latter method is, at all events, the more usual. 

 The largest species, T', crabro, known as the Hornet, is said to nest 

 usually in hollow trees. I have never yet found their nests, though 

 I have taken Hornets at Hastings, Maidstone, and, more abun- 

 dantly, in the New Forest. V. vubjaris, V. (/erniaiiica, and I', riifa 

 always nest in the ground, as far as my own experience goes. V. 

 sylvefitris, although sometimes building in bushes, very frequently 

 nests in the ground, T'. norve/jica I have seldom met with, but 

 always in a hedgerow. I remember one nest so placed in the Comp 



