THE WASP. 139 



be described in a future page. Meanwhile, it will sufi&ce to 

 mentiou that the use of scientific terms, when speaking of these 

 insects, is absolutely necessary, the popular mind not having 

 recognised the different species, which are, in consequence, 

 without popular names. Any Humble Bee, no matter what 

 species, is known as a Bumble Bee, a Foggie, a Dumbledore, or 

 a Hummel Bee, according to the peculiar dialect of the locality ; 

 and very few persons seem to have any idea that there can be 

 more than one species. 



There is one well-known and very handsome insect, which is 

 equally disliked by the bee-keeper, the gardener, and the grocer, 

 as it annoys them greatly in their respective callings. This is 

 the common Wasp (Vespa vulgaris), which is equally fond of 

 honey, fruit, and sugar ; and as it is armed with a potent weapon, 

 is not merely a hateful marauder, but a formidable enemy. The 

 gardener, however, is the least injured of the three, for the Wasp 

 confers upon him some slight benefits, which counteract in some 

 degree the inroads which it makes upon his treasures. It is 

 true that the Wasp is very fond of ripe fruit, and that with an 

 unfailing instinct it prefers the choicest fruits, exactly when 

 they are in their best condition, gnawing holes in them, and 

 spoiling them for the market. Still it is more of a predacious 

 than a vegetable-feeding insect, and kills so many flies that it 

 relieves the gardener of other foes, which, in the end, would be 

 more injurious than itself, inasmuch as the larva endangers not 

 only the fruit but the very life of the plant. It is a strangely 

 bold insect, and has recourse to singular methods of procuring 

 food. In the farming department at Walton HaU, I have seen 

 the pigs lying in the warm simshine, the flies clustering thickly 

 on their bodies, and the Wasps pouncing on the flies and carry- 

 ing them off. It was a curious sight to watch the total indiffer- 

 ence of the pigs, the busy clustering of the flies, with which the 

 hide was absolutely blackened in some places, and then to see the 

 yellow-bodied Wasp, just clear the wall, dart into the dark 

 mass, and retreat again with a fly in its fatal grasp. On the 

 average, one Wasp arrived every ten seconds, so that the pigsty 

 must have been a well-known storehouse for these insects. 



As is well known to every boy who has participated in the 

 delight of taking a Wasp's nest, the habitation of the insect is 



