INSECTS 



373 



Fig. 226. — The Green-veined White [Pieris napi), and an 

 Ichneumon-Fly {Hemitehs melanaritts) , which lays its eggs 

 in the chrysalis of the same, i, 2, 3, 4, Adult female, eggs, 

 caterpillar, and chrysalis of the butterfly; 5, adult female of the 

 ichneumon-fly, of which natural size is shown by 6. 



species {Hemiteles mdanarius) (fig. 226) lays its eggs in the 

 chrysalis of the Green-veined White. 



3. Stinging Hymenoptera are generally distinguished by the 

 presence of a sting in the female, which takes the place of the 

 ovipositor found in the forms 

 so far mentioned. Special 

 cells are usually constructed 

 in which the helpless larvae are 

 reared. As in the last sub- 

 order, the abdomen is attached 

 by a stalk, which may be ex- 

 tremely slender. Ants, Wasps, 

 and Bees are here included, 

 many of which live in social 

 communities, the politics of 

 which will be dealt with in 

 another part of this book, 



and which in itself would require an entire volume to do it 

 justice. 



More than a thousand species of Ants have been described, 

 of which over thirty are British. Among these are the large red 

 Wood Ant {Formica rufa), the large "ant-hills" of which may 

 be seen in fir-woods, the Slave Ant {Formica fused), the Slave- 

 making Ant {Polyergus rufescens), the Black Ant {Lasius niger), 

 the Yellow Ant [Lasius flavus), and the Solitary Ant {Mutilla 

 Europcsa). 



Sand- Wasps dig tunnels in the ground, at the end of which 

 their eggs are laid. Many of them make a curious provision for 

 their larvae in the shape of insects, caterpillars, grubs, or it may 

 be spiders, which they have stung in the nerve-cord so as to 

 render them powerless without actually killing them. Among 

 British forms may be mentioned the Path- Wasp {Pompilius 

 exaltatus), which stores up spiders; the Common Sand- Wasp 

 {Ammophila sabulosa), which buries caterpillars; and the Fly- 

 storing Sand- Wasp {Mellinus arvensis), which does the same to 

 flies. 



Wasps are either solitary or social, the most familiar example 

 of the latter kind being the Common Wasp {Vespa vulgaris), 

 which, as is well known, constructs nests in banks and other 

 places. The combs which these contain are constructed of a kind 



