70 OUR HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



the nest more or less separate from the rest. The males, 

 of course, have no stings, since this organ is but a modi- 

 fied ovipositor, but both females and workers are provided 

 with them. The males, therefore, may be handled with 

 impunity, and if only one could readily recognise the 

 sex, there would be no hesitation in handling them. 

 When all three sexes are seen side by side, there is little 

 difficulty in separating the males, as their antennae are 

 longer than those of either of the others ; but as this is 

 a comparative character it is not so easy of application 

 when only a single sex is seen. To some people, no 

 doubt, a stingless wasp may seem altogether incredible, 

 and, perhaps, contrary to experience; but it must be 

 remembered that the majority of the specimens people 

 in general meet with are workers, which regale them- 

 selves on our dainties, not for their own delectation 

 only, but chiefly to minister to the wants of the grubs 

 which are their care. The males live only for a short 

 time at the close of the season, and, as they have not the 

 important foraging duties of the workers to perform, 

 they are not so likely to force themselves on our 

 notice. 



Wasps are easily affected by changes of temperature ; 

 as with most insects, cold has a benumbing influence 

 on them, and consequently the first frosts of autumn 

 begin to tell upon their numbers, and before long the 

 whole population perishes with the exception of a few of 

 the females, who manage, in the shelter of some retired 

 spot, such as in moss or under bark, to survive the 

 winter, and upon these hibernated specimens depends 

 entirely the perpetuation of the species from season to 

 season. Since, therefore, they are so dependent on 

 climatic conditions, it is not surprising that their 

 numbers are very different in different seasons ; in some 



