THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



143 



L:i5t Summer, although these catevpillars were hatched 

 ill unusually large numbers and to an alarming extent, 

 yet, rapid as their growth is, they never reached the 

 size of more than one inch in length. The cause of 

 this singular plienomeuou 1 soon found to be a number 

 of liornets, and oranije-roLind \va>p^. ili-iMi>nil over 

 the Held, and busy from lunniiim (ill iiIlI.! .Imin-the 

 months of July and Auuii-t . in -i:ii-.liin.; lui- inliucco- 



him 



•ir nian- 



a small hall, and then carried 

 wasps check the development 



him ciir. In Ihi- 



of tlUMMl.T|.lll.ir 



Later in tlic jimmjh, iu September, whcMi the nights 

 turn eool, the wasps are busy only during llir warmer 

 part of the day; hence many of tli' .ai. i iiilhu s ijave a 

 chance of growing to full size, I'lrii ii \]n- i^l.arro is 

 being wormedby hand. When tli.y li:i\ .■ irailicil the 

 length of somewhat over an incli. tlicy become too 

 heavy for the wasp, and are rejected. 



AVhetlier the latter render their services toman from 

 motives of self-interest or otherwise is quite immaterial 

 . to me These little creatureSj by their etlicient and 

 voluntary aid, inipi>scd upou me a duty of gratitude 

 which will nut all.iw me to pry into their motives. 

 They will always lind in me a friend ready to protect 

 them, no matin- wlicthcr they meant to benefit me or 

 tliemschi-. ,M(.-t likrlv tlicv liad lln- preservation of 

 their own .)|V-|,ilii- in \iVw. a'n.l ilni- work for the hor- 

 ticulturist'- rutlllT li.llrlit. 



Some years the w a-p- -ci in In be h -- numerous than 

 in other'years. In this iiail of ibr roininy i<nr acre of 

 tobacco, in order to be pru|iri h udiim ,|, n ,|iiii',-- most 

 of one person's time ami ait. 11111,11 tlir,,ii-lioiit the 

 growing season , if he ba^ no a-sisiancc. l.asi suiinner, 

 assisted by wasps, tlic a. re ..1 tohacco i planted didnot 

 require more than tlncr wcuiuings, leaving me i)lentv 

 of time for other u 01k 



An article on tlu hahHs an.! ii.itural ludoi-y of this trilie 

 of insects, hy one of our chtuMoloijists, could not fail to he 

 of mvi-h interest to tie horticulturist. 



CONCLUSIOX. 



After this very imperfect sketch of the habits 

 of the difteroit groups of wasps foinicl in this 

 country, it only remains to recommend the sub- 

 ject to tlie furtlier attention of careful obseiTcrs. 

 Since there are at least 500 species of wasps to 

 be met with iu the Ujiited States, the field is of 

 course a pretty extensive one; and it will richly 

 repay the toils of the laborer in curious facts 

 and instructive deductions therefrom. We 

 could have easily swelled this Paper to thiice 

 its present somewhat unwieldy dimensions, hy 

 copying blindluld whtit 1ms been said by Euro- 

 pean authors risiieciing the habits of European 

 species; but wo iirelcrrod to lay nothing before 

 the reader that was not based upon personal ob- 

 servations by resident Americans of American 

 species of Wasps, with the exception of a few 

 incidental remarks and illustrations, all of which 

 have been duly credited to the sources from 

 which they were derived. 



■Most people abhor the very name of a Wasp, 

 and considering them all as an unmiligated 

 nuisance, destroy them without mercy wherever 

 they can be found. Certain species— wc arc not 

 accurately informed which, but, judging from 



{Sphinx, quinque-maculata. Haw.), and figured in all its 

 stages in this Jourual, page 21, sometimes infests tobacco, 

 but more usuallv in the northern than in the southern States. 



the experience of our European brethren, we 

 should infer them to be some kind or other 

 of Social Wasps — do undoubtedly injure 

 fruit iu certain seasons, by boring holes in the 

 pulp to gratify their natural taste for sugary 

 substances. But even these catch a great many 

 noxious insects; and the great bulk of the 

 Wasps— that is to say, the Digger-wasps and the 

 solitary True Wasps — have, we belive, no such 

 mischievous propensity for attacking fruit, and, 

 as a general rule, arc beneficial to mankind by 

 checking the undue increase of other insects, 

 and more especially of Plant-lice, Grasshop- 

 pers, and leaf-feeding Caterpillars. By what 

 has been said above, the reader will be enabled 

 to distinguish the former group from the two 

 latter groups; and when we know that the two 

 latter groups are generally our friends and 

 never our enemies, instead of being ruthlessly 

 destroyed they should always be cherished antl 

 encouraged. 



Owing to the great length of this article, 

 the scientific appendix is deferred to num- 

 ber 8. 



[Note. — We regret to have to apologize for the 

 inferior character of some of the figures, illus- 

 trating this article. About a month ago our 

 engraver was sitddenlycalledaway to the sick bed 

 of a son, and we consequently sent ourilrawings 

 to Philadelphia. The firm to which they were 

 sent has done excelleirt work for us on previous 

 occasions, and after finishing the drawings with 

 great care, and giving full instructions, we felt 

 assured of being satisfied. When the proofs 

 came, however, we were much mortified at find- 

 ing that all instructions had been ignored, and 

 that much of the work had evidently been done 

 by novices in their calling. It was then too late 

 to have them re-engraved, and the best wc 

 could do was to have them worked over and 

 corrected. We say this iu no derogatory spirit, 

 because our Philadelphia friends have an excel- 

 lent reputation, and can do good work; and it 

 is quite probable, that iu their endeavors to 

 please us, they hurried the work too much. 

 But we have their own word for it, that the 

 wood was good and the drawings excellent, and 

 they justly deserve a word of censure. Please 

 recollect, gentlemen, that the readers of the 

 Entomologist are abundantly capable of dis- 

 criminating between a good and a bad engrav- 

 ing, and that in their eyes, •' bugs are not crea- 

 tures of such hideous mien,"' that any kind of 

 botch-work will do for them. Give ns in future 

 your very best talent. 



