CLASSIFICATION OF THE SPECIES. 45 
V. vulgaris, Plate IV, is sometimes most incon- 
veniently known by the name of the anchor-faced 
wasp, from the form of the markings on the clypeus. 
She shares this appellation with V. rufa. There is 
a broad line down the centre of the clypeus, swelling 
out at the bottom on either side into a form more 
resembling the battered head of an old wedge than 
the arms of an anchor. Sometimes the black mark- 
ing stops here, at others it contracts into a narrow 
line which is continued down to the lower edge of 
the clypeus, as in V. britannica. 
The corona is large. There is a deep central 
notch on the upper edge, which curves outwards 
from this point in a continuous sweep. The sides 
are straight, and so are the two lines which, meeting 
in a shallow central notch, form the lower boundary. 
The form of the corona, however, like that of the 
marking on the clypeus, varies considerably in diffe- 
rent specimens. One of the most common varieties 
is the presence of two little cusps, or perhaps isolated 
dots, beneath the lower edge. As in V. germanica, 
the space between the limbs of the compound eyes, 
in front of which the scape of the antenne lies, is 
uniformly yellow. 
The metathorax is marked with two, or some- 
times three pair of symmetrical yellow spots, rather 
smaller than those which are found in the species last 
described. 
The first rmg of the abdomen has a broad black 
band curving down regularly to a central point, the 
outline unbroken by any projecting lateral’ cusps. 
The markings of the second ring much resemble 
those of the hornet, and, as in that species, there is 
