HORNETS: BRITISH AND FCREIGN. 389 
doubtless most formidable, known species, and three ditto 
of Vespa cincta. 
Vespa Cincta. 
The species mentioned above is a native of Asia, and is 
spread over a very large tract of country. There are several 
Asiatic species of Vespa which are almost exactly similar in 
their habits, and this may safely be taken as the typical 
species. The head and thorax of Vespa cincta are dark 
brown, covered with a moderately thick grey down, and the 
abdomen is very dark brown, crossed with a bold band of 
bright yellow, whence is derived the specific name of cinctu 
or * banded.” 
I will here quote in evtenso from my note-book the notes 
which refer to Indian “ hornets,” by which term both Vespa 
cincta and V. orientalis are designated :— 
August 15th, 1863.—-“ These insects are very abundant at Benares, but 
not generally spiteful. One may see hundreds of them flying about the 
sweetmeat stalls, like wasps in the fruit shops in England; and the 
vendor drives them away with a whisk—a piece of palm leaf in a cloth— 
and is very rarely stung. If one, however, be incautiously touched the 
sting is very suddenly given and very sharp ; its pain is intense, and it 
induces considerable inflammation. They make their nests in the mud 
walls, and the form of these is just like that of the English hornet. 
“Yesterday I was drying some sugar in the sun, and this attracted a 
large number of them. My man killed many, throwing down their 
bodies on the spot, when the ants appeared to carry off the carcases ; but 
not only did the ants so employ themselves, for the hornets also alighted, 
and carried off their dead brethren as food. 
“The ants (Hcophylla smaragdina) appear to be naturally very 
destructive to these insects. I have seen the hornets trying to carry otf 
their tiny tormentors. Again and again have they darted at them ; but 
it invariably ended in the hornet quietly sitting down among his enemies 
to be bitten or stung to death, and then carried off in triumph to be 
eaten by them, or in his falling to the ground with two or three ants 
hanging on, when his fate was equally certain. One of these insects 
stung me on the thumb, but by sucking the place for about a quarter of 
an hour I drew out the poison, and the pain and swelling were after- 
wards very slight.” 
August 20th, 1863.—“ This evening, having prepared two large squibs 
filled with damp gunpowder, I proceeded to take two nests, one of Vespa 
orientalis, and one of Vespa cincta, both in similar situations. Having 
lighted the touch-paper, the end was placed at the mouth of the hole, 
and wet clay was plastered around. The dense smoke and intense heat 
thus killed every perfect insect in the nest, which I shortly dug out for 
the purpose of examination. One nest was buried forthwith in a hole 
previously prepared, and the one taken to be set up was that of Vespa 
orientalis, to which all the succeeding remarks will refer. 
