SOCIAL WASPS. 



487 



The very fine insect which is here represented belongs to 

 Australia. The colour of the species is principally blaclc, and of 

 a beautiful velvet-like richness. The rest of the insect is bright 

 yellow, also soft and velvety, and the arrangement of the colours 



Kig. 201. — Abispa splendida. 

 (Velvety black and yellow.) 



can easily be seen by reference to the illustration, the dark 

 portions being black, and the light portions yellow. The genus 

 to which this insect belongs is an offshoot of the great genus 

 Odynerus, and shares in the habits of its relatives. 



The Wasps which have hitherto been described are of the 

 solitary kind, and there are, in consequence, no neuters. We 

 now come to those Wasps which construct more than one cell, 

 and, when the number is considerable, the greater part of the 

 architecture is performed by neuters. Our common Wasp or 

 Hornet affords a perfect example of the Social Wasps. In 

 England we have but few examples of the Social Wasps, and 

 their nests are of three kinds, i.e., pensile, such as that of the 

 Tree Wasp ; subterranean, like that of the common Wasp ; or 

 made under shelter of some kind, such as that of the Hornet. 

 Abroad, however, there is a vast variety of Social Wasps, and 

 the modes in which they form their nests are wonderfully varied, 

 the same species often constructing its nest in different ways 

 according to surrounding conditions. 



The insect which is here given is a native of Africa, the 

 specimens in the British Museum having been brought both 

 from Congo and Abyssinia. Its general colour is brown, but 



