502 [NSECTS ABROAD. 



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I have seen the hornets trying to carry off their tiny 

 tormentors. Again and again have they darted at them ; but 

 it invariably ended either in the hornet quietly sitting down 

 among his enemies to be bitten or stung to death, and then 

 carried off in triumph to be eaten by them, or in his falling to 

 the ground with two or three ants hanging on, when his fate 

 was equally certain. 



" ' One of these insects stung me on the thumb, but by sucking 

 the place for about a quarter of an hour, I drew out the poison, 

 and the pain and swelling were afterwards very slight.' 



" ' August 20, 1863. — This evening, having prepared two large 

 squibs filled with damp gunpowder, I proceeded to take two 

 nests, one of Vcspa Oriental-is and one of Vespa cincta, both in 

 similar situations. Having lighted the touch-paper, the end 

 was placed at the mouth of the hole, and wet clay was plastered 

 around. The dense smoke and intense heat thus killed every 

 perfect insect in the nest, which I shortly dug out for the pur- 

 pose of examination. One nest was buried forthwith in a hole 

 previously prepared, and the one taken to be set up was that of 

 Vcspa, Oricntalis, to which all the succeeding remarks will refer. 



" ' Both nests were constructed of earth tempered with water, 

 and I could trace no sign of gluten of any kind in them. In 

 the nest prepared by me were seven ranges of cells, and at 

 the time of taking it from 400 to 500 hornets were at home. 

 Although I took out every perfect insect, there were from forty 

 to fifty nearly hatched by 5 a.m. next morning, showing with 

 what enormous rapidity they increase. The nest was placed 

 under a large wire dish-cover, and a nest of the Yellow Ant 

 before referred to was placed with them, so that every young 

 hornet was destroyed as soon as born.' 



"'July 1, 1864. Benares. — As a boy, when in England, I have 

 watched a hornet carry off a fly sitting on a door-handle, and 

 to-day I saw one pounce on a small honey-bee deep in the 

 pollen of a flower, and, taking him off, sit down and eat him 

 quietly, and, from the number hovering about flowers, this would 

 seem to be a favourite food.' 



" 'July 19, 1864. Benares. — "Watched hornets catching and 

 rating the workers of Termites, whose galleries I had just 

 destroyed on the bark of a tree, when, in consequence, the blind 

 insects were running wildly about.' 



