828 



W.EEVIL XANTHOXYLUM. 



having the upper part of the inner margin of the 

 mandibles as long or longer than the other part ; 

 the front of the clypeus is broadly truncate in the 

 middle, with a tooth on each side ; the abdomen is 

 always oval or conical. Early in the spring a few 

 large wasps may occasionally be observed flying 

 about, and actively engaged in obtaining materials ; 

 these specimens are females which have survived the 

 winter, harbouring in suitable places, without having 

 deposited their eggs, which the returning warmth of 

 the ensuing spring induces them to do; first, however, 

 constructing a nest in some hole in the ground. Here 

 the insect not only forms an outer covering, but con- 

 structs a layer of cells of an hexagonal form, in each of 

 which she deposits an egg ; the larva is hatched in a 

 few days. Wasp grubs are well-known baits for 

 anglers : they are destitute of legs, and remain within 

 the cell in which they are born, being fed by the 

 parent wasp ; as soon as they are full grown the 

 larva closes the mouth of the cell and becomes a 

 pupa. In a week or ten days more this first brood 

 appears in the winged state ; but here commence 

 the wonders of the wasp nest ; all these first-born 

 specimens are destitute of sexual instinct, being 

 neuters, created only for the purpose of assisting 

 their common parent in enlarging the nest, construct- 

 ing fresh cells, and feeding their younger brethren, 

 which are still in the larva state, the egg- depositing 

 process still being continued by the old foundress 

 wasp. It is not until the latter part of the summer 

 that the development of the male and female wasps 

 takes place, the latter are not, however, driven from 

 the nest as soon as produced, as in the case of the 

 hive-bees, and consequently there is no swarming of 

 wasps analogous to the swarming of bees; they remain 

 in fact for some time in the interior of the nest, only 

 quitting it at the beginning of the autumn ; they now 

 pair, the males soon dying ; but scarcely more than 

 a dozen out of the three hundred females, of which 

 the nest is composed, survive the winter, to become 

 the foundresses of fresh colonies in the ensuing year. 

 After this dispersion, the great object of the con- 

 struction of the nest having been accomplished, the 

 community is at an end, the neuters soon disperse 

 and die, and the nest is rendered a desolate ruin. A 

 full-sized wasp-nest is nearly a foot in diameter, of 

 a globular form, the outer covering composed of nu- 

 merous layers of a very thin substance like paper, 

 which the wasps construct of comminuted bits of 

 wood : this covering is more than half an inch thick. 

 There are several (eight in a large nest before the 

 writer at the present time) layers of cells : each of 

 these layers is about two-thirds of an inch deep, sepa- 

 rated from the next upper and under layers by a 

 space of about half an inch, the layers being supported 

 by numerous strong pillars. There are about 16,000 

 cells in a nest, differing in size according to the three 

 orders of individuals composing the community ; it is 

 generally in holes in banks, &c. that the wasps construct 

 their nests. Wasps are very ferocious creatures when 

 disturbed, and their stings are to be dreaded. They 

 feed upon sweets of various kinds as well as upon flesh, 

 and other insects ; they seize the common house flies 

 with avidity, and are very fond of honey. The nests 

 of the other British species are not to be compared 

 in point of size with that described above. Vespa 

 media of Latreille, and Britannica, Leach, which are 

 probably identical, make their nests on trees, attach- 

 ing them at the extremity of the branch, where they 



resemble, in size and colour, a Welsh wig hung out 

 to dry. According to the author of the Insect Ar- 

 chitecture they are more common in the northern parts 

 of the country, being seldom met with in the south; the 

 tree which this species prefers is the silver fir, whose 

 broad flat branch serves as a protection to the sus- 

 pended nest, both from the sun and the rain. The 

 materials of the construction are nearly the same as 

 those of the common wasp. 



Vespa holsatica constructs its nest of a singular 

 form ; it is nearly globular, and enclosed beneath in a 

 saucer-like covering, and is placed in the interior of 

 granaries, or attached to the beams of unfrequented 

 apartments. Another species attaches its nest to 

 various low shrubs. We have been favoured with 

 the two following sketches of a nest of this kind, of 

 small size, found in Oxfordshire, and which consisted 

 of about a dozen cells onlv. It is somewhat like the 



nest figured by Rosel, which Kirby and Spence gave 

 as that of Vespa parietum; but that species is solitary, 

 and belongs to the genus Odynerus. 



Another nest is described by Reaumur, of a" de- 

 pressed globular figure, composed of numerous enve- 

 lopes, so as to assume a considerable resemblance 

 to a half-expanded Provence rose. In Reaumur's 

 specimen there were two layers of cells, and a large 

 open space in the centre, which would most probably, 

 in due time, have been occupied by other layers 

 of cells. 



WEEVIL. The ordinary name given to various 

 species of coleopterous insects belonging to the 

 family Curculionida, or the Linnaean genus Curculio, 

 and more especially applied to the different species 

 of the genus Calandra. See CURCULIONID^E and 

 CALANDRA. 



WHIRLWIG. The common English name of 

 the Gyrinus natator. See GYRINID.*. 



WHITE ANT. See TERMITID.E. 



WILLOUGHBEIA (Scopoli). An East Indian 

 tree, having pentandrous flowers, and belonging to the 

 natural order Apocynece. This plant yields caoutchouc, 

 which is extracted from it in the East, where the 

 trees grow naturally. The plant is easily kept and 

 propagated in the store. 



WIRE\VORM. This name is applied to the 

 cylindric wire-like horny larvae of the species of 

 insects belonging to the coleopterous family ELATE- 

 X.IDJE (which see), some of which are very destructive 

 to young wheat and various vegetables. 



WISTARIA (Nuttal). A highly ornamental 

 genus of plants, chiefly natives of China, belonging to 

 Leguminos<E. This beautiful genus has borne different 

 names, namely, Glycine, Apios, Dolichus, &c. They 

 may be increased by layers or cuttings, and are the 

 most suitable of all other climbing plants for covering 

 arbours, naked walls, &c. 



XANTHOXYLUM (Linnams). A genus of 



