90 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



The sheath is also barbed at the end so 

 as to hold the sting in place while the 

 lances are being thrust deeper and deeper 

 into the skin. 



A poison-sac communicates with the 

 upper end of the sting, and from the sac 

 the poison is pumped into the wound by 

 the motion of the lances. 



The sting of the wasp is very sharp and 

 very small, and it is the poison pumped 

 into the wound rather than the wound 

 itself that causes the unpleasant conse- 

 quences of a wasp sting. The sting, if 

 unpoisoned, would cause no more pain 

 than the prick of a fine needle. 



Usually the wasp, like the bee, loses its 

 sting when it plunges that weapon into 

 an enemy. The barbs that point back- 

 wards hold the sting fast, and the effort 

 to pull it out often results in tearing the 

 sting from the wasp's body, and as a con- 

 sequence of the mutilation, the insect soon 

 dies. The larger hornets are often strong 



