VKSPA. INSECTS. 353 



branous filaments, two of which are plumose ; antennae insert- 

 ed on the middle of the forehead, tumid toward the extremity, 

 of from twelve to thirteen joints, terminated in a point ; man- 

 dibles projecting, forming a kind of beak, sometimes horny 

 in the males ; jaws and lower lip very long, bent ; palpi short, 

 the maxillary ones of four joints, the labial of two. 



All the insects of this genus are foreign, and found chiefly in Africa and Asia. 

 S. cornuta, Lat. Reddish brown, with a spot on the back ; wings 

 and abdomen black ; mandibles in both sexes with a projection 

 or branch, forming a kind of horn. Africa. Lat. Gen. iv. 135. 



2. SOCIALES. 

 Gen. VESPA, Lin. Lat. 



Labium straight, in three parts, of which the intermediate is near- 

 ly cordiform, slightly elongated, with four glandular points 

 at the extremity ; maxillary palpi of six joints, labial of four, 

 the greater part short, obconical ; mandibles scarcely longer 

 than broad, obliquely and broadly truncated at the end ; hood 

 almost square, with the middle of the anterior margin trun- 

 cated and unidentate on each side ; abdomen ovoid, conical, 

 and truncated before at the base. 



The Wasps, like the bees, live in society, and are, like these insects, remarkable for 

 their industry and the structure of their common dwellings. But the bee gathers 

 its food solely from flowers, its sting being only used as a defensive weapon against 

 the attacks of its enemies, while in the wasp the sting is an offensive arm, calcu- 

 lated for its predatory and ferocious course of life. Among the insects of this genus 

 may be remarked the Hornet, which forms its dwelling in the holes of old walls or 

 the hollows of decayed trees. In this last case, these insects enlarge the cavity by 

 detaching the fragments of the decayed wood. The females particularly, having passed 

 the winter in torpidity, on the approach of the warm season, seek a place for the esta- 

 blishment of the colony, and begin the operation by building a thick and solid pillar 

 of the same substance as the other parts of the nest, but much harder and more com- 

 pact. The matter of which this is formed consists generally of the bark of the ash, 

 detached in filaments, and ground by their mandibles into a kind of paste, which 

 hardens as the work goes on. This post or pillar is always placed in the most ele- 

 va f ed place of the vault, and attached to it is a kind of cap or roof of the same mate- 

 rial, which protects their combs frona above. Within this vault they place a second 

 column, in some respects a continuation of the first, which forms the base of the 

 first row of the cells of the comb. These cells are hexagonal, and their openings 

 turned downwards. As in spring only female wasps are seen, it is conjectured they 

 have been fecundated before winter, for they commence depositing their ova as soon 

 as the cells are ready. These ova are soon hatched, and when the larvae have acquir- 

 ed sufficient size, they line their cell with a silky substance, and in this covering 

 undergo their metamorphosis. When this is completed they leave the cell in their 

 perfect state. The insects which first appear are the workers ; and analogy has led 

 to the belief, that these are, as in the bees, females destitute of ovaries. These occu- 

 py themselves in the construction of the dwelling and in the feeding of the larvae. 

 The female continues to deposit her ova ; the family increases in numbers ; the en- 

 velope of the comb is enlarged ; and when this is completed a new addition of pillars 

 is formed connected with the first, till the whole cavity is filled except an entrance 

 about an inch in diameter. Towards the beginning of autumn, the young males 

 and females acquire their perfect form ; and all the larvae which have not completed 

 their transformation before October perish from cold and want of food, for the wasps 

 cease to feed them after this period, and even throw them out of the nest. The males 

 and neuters perish daily, so that toward the end of winter there remain only the fe- 



VOL. II. Z 



