20 HYMENOPTERA. 



miiscorum invaded a wren's nest, and heaped up her bee- 

 bread among the eggs of the poor bird that was compelled to 

 desert them. B. raiellus, also a moss-building bee, I have 

 twice found in possession of birds' nests. Instances of this 

 kind appear to be more uncommon in the social wasps: but 

 I have recorded an instance of Vespa mil gar is tak'mg posses- 

 sion of an old wooden pump that w^as lying aside a hedge- 

 row, its entrance being through the broken spout. In the 

 fifth volume of the Entomologist's Magazine, a correspon- 

 dent states that he found a nest of the hornet in the bank of 

 a river ; this proved to be a mistake, as the situation became 

 too damp, and after constructing a single comb of eighty 

 cells it was deserted. In July last, Mr. C. M. Wakefield of 

 Cheshunt communicated to me the fact of a hornet having 

 taken possession of a wren's nest; it was found on the 29th of 

 June last, in the garden of Mrs. E. Brown, at Broomer 

 Cottage, Cheshunt, by a boy who unfortunately pulled the 

 comb out of the bird's nest. The nest was kindly presented 

 to me, so that I have had the opportunity of inspecting it. 

 The bird's nest is lined with the usual thin papery material, 

 the comb being suspended from the top ; the number of cells 

 is twenty ; about ten are built up to the required height, four 

 contain full-fed grubs, and are closed in with the usual white 

 silken covering; the grubs have been extracted from the 

 others. This is the most remarkable instance of the hornet's 

 deviating from its usual mode of procedure that I have 

 become acquainted with. 



Fredk. Smith. 

 27, Richmond Crescent, 

 Islington. 



