430 The Bee Mite. 
abdomen imperfectly ringed with yellow. The wasps are 
very predaceous, and do immense benefit by capturing and 
eating our insect pests. I have seen wasps carry off “cur- 
rant worms” with a celerity that was most refreshing. 
As the solitary wasps are too few in numbers to do much 
damage—even if they ever do any—any great damage 
which may occur would doubtless come from the social 
paper-makers. In this case, we have only to find the nests 
and apply the torch, or hold the muzzle of a shot-gun to 
the nest and shoot. This should be done at nightfall when 
the wasps have all gathered home. Let us not forget that 
the wasps do much good, and so not practice wholesale 
slaughter unless we have strong evidence against them. 
A BEE MITE. 
It has long been known to chicken fanciers that our poul- 
try often suffer serious injury from a small mite. Other 
mites attacked the cow, the horse, the sheep, etc. 
During the past Spring a lady bee-keeper of Connecti- 
FIG. 2200 
cut discovered these mites in her hives while investigating 
to learn the cause of their rapid depletion. She had noticed 
that the colonies were greatly reduced in number of bees, 
and upon close observation she found that the diseased or 
failing colonies were covered with these mites. A cele- 
