258 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



will be found a record of the hornet building in a perpendicular 

 bank at the side of a river. Mr. Reeks' observations on "Our 

 Common Wasps," in some particulars, do not accord with the 

 results of my own observations and experience. 'Their number 

 is said to be four ; this applies, I conclude, to the species 

 found in the neighbourhood of Thruxton. In the northern 

 counties, and also in Scotland, their number would be five, 

 Vespa norvegica being much more common than V. sylvestris. 

 Of V. rufa, Mr. Reeks observes that he he has found it work- 

 ing until very late in the autumn, even to the beginning of 

 November. This is a circumstance quite unknown to me 

 previously. In all the nests that I have watched, the wasps 

 have concluded their labours by the latter part of August, and 

 1 do not remember ever to have met with V. rufa later than 

 the end of that month. My observations on V. vulgaris differ 

 widely from those of Mr. Reeks, who says, " The males 

 and workers are never seen after August." This will not 

 apply to the neighbourhood of London, where I have seen 

 both these sexes plentiful up to the end of September, and 

 workers I saw on the wing ten days ago, near Highgate, On 

 the 29th of September last, being in Yorkshire, I saw both 

 males and workers in plenty, feeding on ripe pears, to the 

 great disgust of a reverend friend of mine. V. germanica was 

 equally common. Mr. Reeks, no doubt, is thoroughly well 

 acquainted with all the sexes of the four species common in 

 his own neighbourhood, but I have considerable doubts of 

 anyone being able to separate the males correctly of the two 

 commonest species, V. vulgaris and V. germanica, without an 

 examination of the sexual organs ; colour or markings, 1 am 

 certain, from long experience, will not enable anyone to do 

 so, and the workers of those species are also extremely 

 difficult to separate : if whole colonies are examined, it will 

 be found that the markings on the face are by no means 

 constant. I have endeavoured to point out what I consider 

 to be the best guides, in my work on the 'Fossores and 

 Vespidae,' published by the Trustees of the British Museum. 

 The females of all the species are readily distinguished, as 

 are also all the sexes of V. rufa, V. sylvestris, and V. norve- 

 gica. I never met with the male of V. arborea, but have 

 received what I believe to be it from Northumberland and 

 Carlisle : this species is very like V. rufa, but is rather 

 larger, and also is a stouter insect, the legs being thicker. 



