THE WASP. 85 



insect is plentiful in most parts of England, and may be known 

 by the bright orange-red hue which decorates the last three 

 segments of the abdomen. The female and worker of this 

 species are precisely alike, except in their size; the former, 

 which is popularly called the queen bee, measuring nearly an 

 inch from the head to the tip of the tail, while the worker is 

 scarcely half that length. The male is very variable in colour, 

 but is generally black, with thick yellowish hairs upon the 

 face, the fore part of the thorax, and the first segment of the 

 abdomen. 



I have always found this species to be fiercer than the pre- 

 ceding, and have more than once been driven away from the 

 neighbourhood of the nest by its rapid and incess9,nt attacks. 

 The sting with which this bee is armed is a very formidable 

 weapon, and the poison which it conveys into the wound is 

 extremely virulent, causing much pain, and leaving a dull, 

 aching sensation for several days afterwards. These symptoms, 

 however, vary according to the individual who is stung, and 

 those which are mentioned are described according to personal 

 experience. 



Generally, the Lapidary Bee makes its nest in heaps of stone, 

 sometimes choosing those hillocks of rough stones which are 

 heaped on the sides of roads, awaiting the stone-breaker and 

 his hammer. Sometimes the fallen debris of limestone rocks 

 affords a residence for this bee, and, in many instances, it 

 burrows into the ground, and there makes its nest, just like 

 that of the common humble bee. 



There is one well-known and very handsome insect, which 

 is equally disliked by the bee-keeper, the gardener, and the 

 grocer, as it annoys them greatly in their respective callings. 

 This is the common Wasp ( Vespa vulgaris)^ which is equally 

 fond of honey, fruit, and sugar ; and as it is armed witlj a 

 potent weapon, is not merely a hateful marauder, but a formid- 

 able enemy. The gardener, however, is the least injured of 

 the three, for the Wasp confers upon him some slight benefits, 

 which counteract in some degree the inroads which it makes 



