390 



EuMENIDJE.- 



-INSECTS.- 



-Vespid.e. 



get many a poke when tr3'ing to get at the sweet gather- 

 ing of the Myrapetra. The name is a fanciful one, 

 compounded of the names of two ancient cities — one 

 Myra in Asia Minor, with its curious rock tomhs ; the 

 other Pctra in Idumea, the ancient Selah, with its 

 liouses and temples in the rook. The nest I have 

 described was, at once, the home and the tomb of the 

 wasps I foimd in it. — See &g. 60. 





Nest of .Myrapetra scutellaris. 



In the Brazilian forests man}' different kinds of wasps' 

 nests are met with. Mr. Wallace describes tliem as 

 being generallj' attached to the under sides of leaves, 

 especially of the young Tucuma palm, as the leaves of 

 that plant are broad and afford a good shelter. Some 

 of these nests are little flat domes, with a single small 

 opening. Others have all the cells exposed. In some 

 there are only two or three cells, this being an early 

 stage of the nest ; when completed they have a great 

 number ; they are of a delicate papery substance. 

 Others build large cylindrical nests, of a material 

 resembling thick cardboard. Some form their nests 

 in hollow trees, while others construct them among 

 the roots in the ground. Many of the wasps sting 

 very painfully, while some are so fierce, that, when 

 the traveller disturbs their nest, they fly out and 

 attack him. 



Family— EUMENIDiE {SuUtanj Wasps). 



Jlr. Henry Saussure has described and figured most 

 of the species of this group, as well as those belonging 

 to other groups of the Diploptcra. There are many 

 genera and species, but reference here can only be 

 afforded to some of the British species. 



Of the genus Eumencs, the abdomen of 

 which is pear-shaped, the basal segment being 

 narrowed into a petiole at its base, we have one 

 species in the British islands. This {Eumencs 

 coarctatus) is a very local insect, apparently 

 restricted to the southern counties of England. 

 It constructs small globular cells of mud, which 

 it attaches to twigs of shrubs, particularly to 

 those of the common heath. The insect provi- 

 sions each nest witli the larVK of small Lepi- 

 doptera, for the support of its solitary grub. The 

 Eumenes grub is occasionally the subject of a 

 parasite of the genus Cryptiis. 



Of the genus Odynerus there are many species, 

 which are spread over all parts of the world. 

 In the British islands there are twelve species, 

 some of which are very difficult to discriminate, 

 as their colouring is very inconstant. Some of 

 the species burrow in wood. Odynerus trifas- 

 ciatus, a common species, selects for its burrows 

 decayed rails, posts, or fencing. Odynerus 

 quadratus forms its cells in old posts, and 

 generally, if not always, prefers some ready- 

 made tunnel or hole, fitted for its peculiar 

 economy. Mr. Ingpen once knew of this species 

 constructing its cells in the folding of a piece of 

 paper which had fallen behind some books. It 

 also makes use of the tubes of reeds used in 

 thatching outhouses in a farm-yard. But the 

 most curious adaptation I have heard of, is its 

 having lined the bores of a double-barrelled pistol 

 wliich hung on a post in an arbour of a garden. 



Odynerus antilope has its burrows in sand- 

 banks. These burrows are provisioned with 

 small green caterpillars of lepidopterous insects. 

 The Golden wasp, liedychrum auratwn, is para- 

 sitic on this species. 



The Odynerus spinipes is abundant in sandy 

 lanes during the mouths of June and July, when it may 

 often be met with in large colonies. The females store 

 up small green caterpillars as food for their larv.-e. 

 Their larvaj are often subject to the parasitic attacks of 

 Chrysis bidentata, and other species of Golden wasps 

 are sometimes seen hovering about or entering their 

 burrows. These wasps construct beautiful granular 

 tubes, as entrances to these burrows, which are fre- 

 quently met with on sandbanks in early summer. Ody- 

 nei'us Imvipes and 0. melanoce^yhalus have been found 

 burrowing in dead bramble sticks, or in those of tlie 

 rose. The former species excavates and lines the tube 

 with a coating of fine sand, and constructs the divi- 

 sions between the cells also of fine sand. It stores up 

 small caterpillars, and is subject to the attacks of two 

 species of Ichneumon, the Crypius ornatus and C. 

 bcUosus. 



