5390 THE REV. F. A. WALKER, D.D., F.L.8., ON 
“ Both nests were constructed of earth tempered with water, and I could 
trace no sign of gluten of any kind in them. In the nest prepared by me 
were seven ranges of cells, and at the time of taking it from 400 to 500 
hornets were at home. Although I took out every perfect insect, there 
were from 40 to 50 nearly hatched by 5 a.m. next morning, showing with 
what enormous rapidity they increase. The nest was placed under a 
large wire dish cover, and a nest of the yellow ant before referred to was 
placed with them, so that every young hornet was destroyed as soon as 
born.” 
July \st, 1864,—‘ Benares. As a boy, when in England, I have seen a 
hornet carry off a fly sitting on a door handle, and to-day I saw one 
pounce on a small honey bee deep in the pollen of a flower, and taking 
him off, sit down and eat him quietly, and from the number hovering 
about flowers, this would seem to be a favourite food.” 
July 19th, 1864.— Benares. Watched hornets catching and eating the 
workers of termites, whose galleries I had just destroyed on the bark 
of a tree, when, in consequence, the blind insects were running wildly 
about.” 
August 19th, 1864.-—“ Watched them more narrowly and carefully. Saw 
that one caught at least ten termites, one after the other, and made them 
all up into a ball with its jaws, when the said ball was taken away, 
evidently to feed the young larvee with a rich and juicy morsel, which, 
however, would be strongly tinctured with acid.” 
APPENDIX. 
SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES OF Vespide IN THE NATIONAL COLLECTION. 
The accompanying table is a synopsis of most, if not all, of the species 
of Vespide in the national collection. There are, of course, many more 
genera of aculeate Hymenoptera represented there, but the following 
represent the true Vespide occurring both in the old and new world, but 
the larger proportion of species, especially as regards the hornets, would 
appear to be met with in the former. The distinction in colour and in 
size between so-called “hornets” and “ wasps” would appear to hold 
good not only in England, but in most countries of the world wherever 
these insects occur. Some of the species of Vespide in the collection at 
the British Museum are still unnamed, and several specimens are over- 
crowded, the great number of those of Vespa orientalis having caused 
them to become mixed with those of Vespa crabro. I have been unable to 
discover that Vespa crabro occurs in Bible lands, or indeed in any part 
of Asia or Africa, though it is recorded in a catalogue of American 
Hymenoptera, and two specimens in the British Museum are labelled 
“New York.” 
