THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



143 



Last Summer, although tlieso caterpillars were hatched 

 ill unusuall)- Uiruc numbers and to an alarming extent, 

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

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

 this singular phenomenon I soon found to be a number 

 of hornets, and orange -colored wasps, dispersed over 

 the field, and busy from morning till night during the 

 months of July and August, in searching for tobacco- 

 worms on the lower side of the leaves. Whenever 

 they found one, they took hold of him with their man- 

 dibles, worl-ed him v.p into a small hall, and then carried 

 him o(f. In this way the wasps check the development 

 of the caterpillar. 



Later in the season, in September, when the nights 

 turn cool, the wasps are busy only during the warmer 

 part of the day; hence many of the caterpillars liave a 

 chance of growing to full "size, even if the tobacco is 

 being woniicd liy band. "\Vlicn they have reached the 

 length of sonii'what over an inch, they become too 

 heavy foi- the w asp. and arc irjccted. 



Whether the latter render their services to man from 

 motives of self-interest or otherwise is quite immaterial 

 to mo These little creatures^ by tlieir efficient and 

 voluntary aid, imposed upon me a duty of gratitude 

 which will not allow mc to pry into their motives. 

 They will always tiud in nic a friend ready to protect 

 them, no matter wlietbcr thry meant to benefit me or 

 themselves. Most lilccly they had the preservation of 

 their own oflsijring in view, and thus work for the hor- 

 ticulturist's future benelit. 



Some years the wasps seem to be less numerous than 

 in other years. In this part of the country one acre of 

 tobacco, in order to be properly wormed , requires most 

 of one person's time and attention throughout the 

 growing season, if he has no assistance. Last summer, 

 assisted by wasps, the acre of tobacco I planted did not 

 require more than three wormiugs, leaving me plenty 

 of time for other work. 



An aHicle on the habits and natural liistoi-y of this tribe 

 of_ insects, Jiy one of our entomologists, could not fiiil to le 

 of much interest to the hoiiioulturist . 



CONCLUSION. 



After this very imperfect sketch of the liabits 

 of the different groups of wasps found in this 

 country, it only remains to recommend the sub- 

 ject to tlic further attention of careful observers. 

 Since there are at least 600 species of Avasps to 

 be met with in the United Stales, 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 thrice 

 its present somewhat unwieldy dimensions, hy 

 copying blindfold what has been said by Euro- 

 pean authors respecting the habits of European 

 species; but we preferred to lay notliing 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 

 iitcidental 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 unmitigated 

 nuisance, destroy them without mercy wherever 

 they can be found. Certain species — we are not 

 accurately informed which, but, judging from 



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

 stages inUiis Journal, page 21, sometimes infests tobacco, 

 but mnrc usually in the northern than iii 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 in 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, are 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 tlic two 

 latter groups; and when we know that the two 

 latter groups arc generally our friends and 

 never our enemies, instead of being ruthlessly 

 destroyed they should always be cherished and 

 encouraged. 



Owing to the great length of tliis article, 

 the scientific appendix is deferred to num- 

 ber 8. 



[NoTii. — 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 suddenlycalled away to the sick bed 

 of a son, and we consequently sentour drawings 

 to Philadelphia. The firm to which they were 

 sent has done excellent 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 rc-engravcd, and the best we 

 could do was to have them worked over and 

 corrected. We say this in no derogatory spirit, 

 because our Philadelphia friends have an excel- 

 lent reputation, and c'«;( do good work; and it 

 is quite probable, that in 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 abundanlly 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 us in future 

 your very best talent. 



