PASTEBOABD WASP. 259 



thirteen cells, arranged in five rows, four being in the central 

 row, and the rest graduating regularly. It is almost as large as 

 a well-sized turnip radish, and something of the same shape, 

 supposing the radish to he suspended by the root, and to be 

 cut off just below the leaves. The outer envelope is composed 

 of three layers overlapping each other, which are very fragile, 

 considering the work they have to perform. 



The wasp itself is prettily marked, and although it is variable 

 in colouring, can be recognised by the black anchor-shaped 

 mark on the clypeus, and the squared black spot on the seg- 

 ments of the abdomen. 



Anothek species of British Tree Wasp is the Campanulau 

 Wasp (Vespa sylvestris), a species which has received a multi- 

 tude of scientific names, but which is not variable in colour as 

 that which has just been mentioned. Though it has a wider 

 distribution than the Norwegian wasp, it is scarcely so plentiful 

 an insect, and is remarkable for an occasional habit of making 

 a subterranean nest like that of the common wasp. The 

 NoETHEEN Wasp (Vespa borealis or arhorea), is another of the 

 pensile wasps, and is mostly found in the North of England and 

 Scotland. Its nest is built in fir-trees. I may perhaps mention 

 that the tree wasps may always be distinguished from their sub- 

 terranean brethren by the colour of the antennae, workers and 

 females having the scape black in the ground wasps, and those 

 which build in trees having it yellow in both sexes. 



The nest of the tatua, which has recently been described, must 

 not be confounded with that of the Pasteboabd Wasp {Chariergns 

 nidulans), although both insects inhabit the same country, and 

 the nest of the latter bears a great external resemblance to the 

 pendulous nest of the tatua. But when examined closely, this 

 nest is seen to have a remarkable addition to its structure, the hole 

 through which the branch is passed being very large, so as to 

 permit the nest to swing freely in the wind. In most specimens 

 of these nests the hole is simply made through the thick upper 

 end of the structure but in a few examples the pasteboard-like 

 substance is so moulded that it looks as if a ring had been added 

 to the top of the nest. 



The dimensions of tlic Charteigus' nest are extremely varialilc, 



s 2 



