BRITISH INSECTS 



is not so, in spite of the curious pointed object attached 

 to the abdomen of the female. This is her borer, or 

 augur, with which she makes a hole in a tree, and there- 

 after lays her egg. It is a tool and ovipositor combined, 



F15A-3. Guaar- i ^acoFIy, JcmcU 



and this fine large insect is incapable of inflicting pain. 

 It is sometimes called the Giant-Tailed Wasp, but it 

 is a Sawfly, and only a distant relative of the more 

 familiar insect. The larva eats its way into the wood 

 of coniferous trees, and, as a rule, the latter are not in 

 a healthy condition when attacked so that not much 

 harm is perpetrated. The female measures about two 

 inches in length, and has an expanse across the wings 

 of two and a quarter inches. She and her mate are 

 boldly banded with black and yellow. It is commoner 

 in the fir and pine forests of the North than elsewhere, 

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