OUR HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



south of England, some years ago, on examining sixty 

 wasps that had been captured quite promiscuously in his 

 garden one day in the summer, found them to consist of 

 twenty-four germanica, fourteen vulgaris, seventeen rufa, 

 and five sylvestris. This, however, probably represents 

 an unusually large proportion of rufa. 



For the distinction of these six yellow and black 

 species, we must look mainly at the face and the first 

 segment of the abdomen. Turning first to the former of 



\ I 



FIG. 27. Coronet-spots and clypei of wasps. A, V. vulgaris, female ; B, 

 vulgaris, worker ; c, germanica, worker ; D, germanica, female ; E, 

 sylvestris, worker. 



these, we examine carefully the central plate referred 

 to on p. 74 viz., the clypeus and are at once 

 struck by differences here : in all the clypeus itself is 

 yellow, but the black markings upon it vary (Fig. 27). 



