27 



kind is said to be fatal to certain Dipterous insects, it may 

 therefore be so to Hymenopterons ones ; whetlior it be so or 

 not, it is a fact that, in the height of summer, in weatlier the 

 most splendid and enjoyable, the career of thousands of wasps 

 was suddenly stopped in death at the very time the cholera was 

 raginw in various parts of the country. 



The following are the species of Social Vespidge at present 

 known to inhabit Britain, viz. : — Vespa Vulgaris, Gerraanica, 

 Rufa, Arborca, Sylvestris, Norvegica, and Crabro; the first tlireo 

 are the most common, and almost invariably choose an under- 

 ground situation for their nests; V. Arborea occasionally con- 

 structs its nest in holes in the thatched roofs of buildings, but 

 more frequently perhaps attaches it to the branches of fir trees. 

 V. Sylvestris sometimes builds underground and at other times 

 among the branches of a tree or in a bush; while V. Norvegica 

 confines itself to trees or bushes, suspending its nest from the 

 branches. The nest of Y. Crabro is to be looked for in hollow 

 trees or under the roofs of houses, &c. 



Although public feeling is very strong against these insects, 

 some fearing them for their stings, others disliking them on 

 account of their voracitj', it must be admitted that they seldom, 

 or never, use their weapons except in self-defence, and that their 

 voracity proceeds not from any wish to satisfy their own appe- 

 tites but from a desire to provide for their younger brethren, who 

 are unable to help themselves. It should therefore excite rather 

 our admiration than our disgust. As a pattern of industry they 

 surpass the " busy bee," rising even earlier in the morning and 

 working later in the evening than tlie little creature we have all 

 been taught to imitate ; and, tliough they do consume a portion 

 of the produce of our orchards, yet, it must be confessed, that 

 their share is well earned, since in the earlier part of the year 

 they have destroyed vast numbers of tlie Aphides and other 

 creatures whose ravages upon the leaves, bnds, and blossoms of 

 our fruit trees are of a much more serious nature, involving as 

 they do, not only the destruction of the crop, but also the sacri- 

 fice, to a great extent, of the health of the tree. For the 

 removal of these destructive creatures, and thus rendering com- 

 paratively light the evils they would inevitably cause, we are 

 largely indebted to the wasp. 



