ZOOLOGY. jei133 
HYMENOPTERA (Bezs, Wasps, &c.) 
One of the most common insects of this order, is Polistes 
pallipes, commonly known to the inhabitants as the “ Ber- 
muda Wasp.” The nest, or, more properly speaking, comb, 
of this species, is usually fastened to the branches of the 
wild sage (Lantana salvifolia), and is about the size of a 
man’s hand; flat, with its upper surface shiny and appa- 
rently waterproof, having the mouths of the cells reversed, 
or opening beneath, of which we counted some two hundred 
and eighty in a specimen we brought home and presented 
to the British Museum. When constructing their combs 
in the cedar groves and cultivated parts, they appear to 
choose the proximity of a wall, in preference to the open, 
perhaps for shelter from the winds. Mr. Hurdis informs 
us that their combs abound in the marshes, where they 
hang suspended from the stems of the tall sedges. It is 
a cowardly insect, and is not half the plucky fellow our 
English wasp is, who always guards his nest with vigi- 
lance, and attacks the intruder with the greatest fury ; but 
our friend of Bermuda will not only let you come close to 
his comb, but will positively allow you to cut off the 
branch whereon his abode rests, without any molestation 
on his part. It is prettily marked, of a lightish brown 
colour, striped with bands, brown and buff, across the 
abdomen. 
A handsome, although rare insect, is Pelopaus ceruleus, 
known on the islands as the “blue wasp.” We only saw 
one specimen during our stay, and this we fortunately 
captured, in the garden at Hermitage. It has the thorax 
and abdomen of a bright metallic dark-blue, and the wings 
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