96 



INSECTS AND HUMAN WELFARE 



ful mission should never be doubted. Like all social insects 

 they defend their nests and brood with great vigor and are no 

 respecters of persons when their home is threatened. The 

 hornets, belonging to the genus Vespa are largely replaced in 

 our southern states by other paper wasps known as Polistes. 

 The larvae of Polistes are fed by the adults upon caterpillars 



Fig. 42. The White-faced Hornet (Vespa maculata), a frequent visitor to 

 our porches in the summer, where she comes in search of flies. 



of various kinds which are sought for and captured by the 

 wasps, to be chewed up and distributed to their brood. 



Many insects which overwinter in the adult condition find 

 that they can avoid the rigors of the hibernating season by 

 seeking shelter in houses. The majority of these are beetles. 

 A variety of these creatures appear upon window panes in 

 their search for a means of egress in the spring, and con- 

 tinuous observation will readily reveal the fact that some 

 kinds are quite regular visitors. 



Through his slow and tedious emergence from savagery, and 

 undoubtedly from the much more remote stages of his evolu- 



