260 



ELEMENTARY ENTOMOLOGY 



the South, and in the tropics become veritable pests. Various arti- 

 ficial nests have been devised whereby colonies may be maintained 

 indoors for study, for which no insects are of more interest. 1 



2. WASPS 



Every small boy soon makes the acquaintance of the bees and 

 wasps, which he naturally classes together from their ability to sting 

 most painfully. The males, however, are entirely harmless, but 



FIG. 414. A digger-wasp (Ammophila sp.). (Natural size) 



a, wasp putting an inch-worm into its nest burrow ; <5, the nest burrow with food for the 



young, paralyzed inch-worms in bottom and burrow nearly filled ; c, wasp bringing a bit of 



material to put over the filled nest burrow. (From life, after Kellogg) 



unfortunately we have no means of recognizing them in the field. 

 The wasps may be distinguished from the bees by the first seg- 

 ment of the hind tarsus being cylindrical and naked, and the body 

 hairs being simple and unbranched. 



Digger-wasps (Sphecina). Several families of wasps are grouped 

 together under this name, which is due to their habit of digging 



1 See Kellogg's "American Insects," p. 548. 



