. 
January 25, 1917] 
NATURE 
413 
THE SCARCITY OF WASPS. 
; “TE correspondence in Nature recently (Octo- 
eo =e 
i ss nen malas fi 
&- 
=a 
” 
would be difficult to support by observation. 
Y . . 
them out of safe winter quarters. This cause can, 
however, scarcely be invoked 
ber 12 and 26 and November 16) on the 
scarcity of wasps during the late summer and 
autumn of last year raises some interesting and 
difficult questions. In various parts of Great 
Britain—from Wigtownshire, Cheshire, and 
Gloucestershire to Kent—this scarcity has been 
observed, following on an abundance of queens in 
spring. The wet and cold conditions prevailing 
in spring and early summer are suggested as the 
explanation by most of the writers who contri- 
buted observations, and this inclement weather 
would naturally be accompanied by a scarcity of 
the insects—caterpillars, greenfly, diptera, etc.— 
on which wasps feed their grubs. In a letter to 
the West Kent Advertiser for November 24, Mr. 
G. W. Judge suggests that famine rather than 
cold was responsible for the mortality. Mr. W. F. 
_Denning’s definite observation (supra, p. 
149) 
of the dying out of five nests of Vespa vulgaris 
near Bristol in June is noteworthy in this con- 
‘nection. Mr. A. O. Walker’s theory that the 
queens of last year’s spring were largely infertile 
Mr. 
©. H. Latter? has suggested that a mid-winter 
with much “open” weather—such as prevailed in 
January, 1916—is deadly to queens by tempting 
to explain the 
paucity of autumn workers after a spring like that 
of 1916, rich in queens. 
_ The fact that worker wasps were abundant 
a 
a 
enough in some places makes it likely that other 
factors affecting the numbers of these insects 
still require investigation. Mr. H. St. G. Gray 
wrote (p. 209, supra) that they were too plentiful 
on the Somerset hills, and they certainly swarmed 
in the neighbourhood of Dublin during September. 
Referring to past records, I find that 1897 and 
1907 were years marked by great scarcity of wasps 
in Ireland; the latter of these summers, at any 
rate, was abnormally wet and cool. 
Most writers in Nature and elsewhere express 
satisfaction at the temporary reduction in the 
wasp population. The damage done by wasps to 
fruit is undoubtedly great in normal seasons, and 
_ they also také a valuable portion of our food- 
supply by their habit of robbing bee-hives of 
honey. On the other hand, as Mr. Latter and Mr. 
Denning point out, wasps are of considerable ser- 
vice in destroying multitudes of harmful insects, 
with which they feed their larve. The fierceness | 
of wasps has been greatly exaggerated; unless 
attacked or annoyed, their disposition is placid, 
though one requires, perhaps, to be an admirer 
of the insects to be able to watch with serenity a | 
dozen of them crawling over one’s food. From 
the point of view of rural economy, it seems desir- 
able to encourage wasps until the fruit season, 
and then to wage such war on them as may be 
found necessary. 
Gro. H. CARPENTER. 
1 “Bees and Wasps ” (Cambridge University Press), p. 44- 
NO. 2465, VOL. 98] 
NOTES. 
One of the saddest incidents of the recent terrible 
explosion in a works engaged in refining explosives 
is the death of Mr. Andrea Angel, who was at the 
time acting as chief chemist and assistant-manager. 
The exact cause of the disaster is at present unknown, 
but it was preceded by an outbreak of fire. When the 
alarm was given, Mr. Angel, who was in his quarters, 
went at once to the scene of the fire and warned the 
operatives, many of whom undoubtedly owe their lives 
to his devotion to duty. Mr. Angel was born at Brad- 
ford in 1877. He was educated at Exeter School, 
from which he went to Christ Church, Oxford, as an 
exhibitioner. He took a first class in chemistry in 
the Honour School of Natural Science in 1899, was 
afterwards elected Dixon research scholar, proceeded 
to the degree of M.A. in 1903, and took the B.Sc. 
degree three years later. He acted for some years as 
lecturer in chemistry at Brasenose, and latterly at 
Christ Church, and was also tutor in chemistry to 
non-collegiate students. Shortly after the outbreak of 
war he gave up his work at Oxford and took up that 
on which he was engaged at the time of his tragic 
death. Mr. Angel was a fellow of the Chemical 
Society, and although the exacting duties of a college 
tutor left him little leisure for research, he was able 
to make several original contributions to the subject 
which have appeared in the Transactions of the 
society. He first published in 1902, in conjunction 
with his tutor, Mr. Harcourt, ‘‘ Observations on the 
Phenomena and Products of Decomposition when 
Normal Cupric Acetate is Heated,” and afterwards 
papers on ‘‘Cuprous Formate” in 1906 and on ‘‘ The 
Isomeric Change of Halogen-substituted Diacylanilides 
into Acylaminoketones ” in 1912. He was a man of a 
very lovable and unselfish nature, and will be greatly 
mourned by a wide circle of friends and old pupils. 
AN important, letter from Lord Blyth appeared in 
the Times on January 22 emphasising the necessity 
for the close co-ordination of science with’ practice in 
agriculture for the purpose of increasing the food pro- 
duction of the country. Lord Blyth’s proposal is the 
immediate appointment of a Commission of men of 
science who shall devote their time exclusively to 
research in connection with the varying characteristics 
of the soil throughout the country, the crops most 
suited to each locality, the best methods of treating 
and manuring such land, the most suitable artificial 
manures to be used for each purpose, and the best 
| Substitutes for such of these as may be temporarily 
unobtainable by reason of scarcity or cost. As time 
is pressing the work should be put in hand at once 
and information promptly circulated through the War 
Agricultural Committees. This proposal will, we are 
| Sure, be received sympathetically on all sides, though, 
| as a matter of fact, it is understood that such a Com- 
mission is already in process of formation. Through- 
| out the war the agricultural colleges and experiment 
stations have rendered useful service, and have demon- 
strated more convincingly than ever the close connec- 
tion between science and agriculture. Indeed, never 
before has agricultural science had so much recognition 
as now, either from farmers or from men engaged 
in pure science, and jt is hoped that the new conditions 
will do much to strengthen still further the develop- 
ment of scientific agriculture in this country. 
ParTIcuULAR attention is directed to the important 
| letter which appears in another column from Prof. 
| Eugenio Rignano, the well-known psychologist and 
editor of the Italian scientific monthly, Scientia. The 
| question as to the establishment of year-books and 
| international scientific journals in the countries of the 
