Stinging Four'winged Insects 



703 



PhuU bu Vr P. lh,,nl,i, F.Z.S., ICiiir.ifx PaH: 



TREE-WASr. 



Very siiiiiLir to the common wasp, but builds 

 jt« nest in trees instead of in tlie ground. 



times of only three— a moilei-atoly long basal one, a short 

 middle one, and a long teriiiiiiul one, comjiosed of a number 

 of joints united into one ; and rarely, as in the case of the 

 males of some small species aljout half an inch long which 

 feed on fir and pine, the antenn;e are feathered. The grubs 

 are very like caterpillars, and are sometimes called '-false 

 caterpillars"; but a true cater[)illar (except in one or two very- 

 rare exceptions among foreign species) has ne\er jnore than 

 sixteen legs, while these -false caterjjillars " have more, often 

 as many as twenty-two. They also resemble caterp)illars in 

 another way, lor the pup;e are enclosed in cocoons. One 

 interesting Australian species, which feeds on gum-trees, pro- 

 ceeds from a black caterpillar with only six legs. The perfect insect has a blackish head and 

 thorax, with three large yellow sp>ots on the latter, yellowish antennae and wings, and a green 

 abdomen ; it measures about an inch and a half across the wings, and has knobbed antennae. 

 An allied species, found in Tasmania, is said to tend its young larva3 — an unusual habit, except 

 among social insects like bees, wasps, and ants. Among the commonest and the most destructive 

 saw-flies in England are those feeding upon the currant, gooseberi'V, and pear, of which there are 

 several species, measuring about half an inch across the wings. The commonest flies which lay 

 their eggs on the gooseberry and currant are yellow, with the head, antenna, and tliree long spots 

 on the back black, and the wings transparent, with black veins. The grubs are bluish green, with 

 twenty legs, and numerous black dots ; and se\'eral may often be seen on one leaf. Tlie best-known 

 of the Pear Saw-flies is black, with the wings transparent, except the veins ; the grub is very 

 like a slug, and is green or yellow, very slimy, with the front of the body much thickened. 



The Wood-wasps include only a few species, the grubs of which live in the stems of 

 plants, or in the solid wood of trees. One of the largest feeds on fir- or pine-trees, and the 

 fly measures fi-om half an inch to an inch and a half in length, and varies much in size, though 



the male is generally much smaller than the female, 

 bands, and a stout ovi- 

 positor half as long as - - - 

 the abdomen. In the 

 male the tip of the abdo- 

 men is black, and ends in 

 a rectangular point. The 

 wings are transjDarent, 

 with yellow nervures. 



Next to these in- 

 sects come the Gall- 

 flies, most of which 

 produce round galls on 

 oaks; and in some species 

 we meet with a wingless 

 brood, living alternately 

 with the winged broods, 

 but at the roots of the' 

 trees instead of in the 

 open air. The veining 

 of the wings is reduced 

 to one or two veins ; 

 the antennae are rather 

 long, and not angulated ; 

 and the abdomen is 



The female is vellow, with two black 



Pliotu hy Suholastk Photo. Co.] 



[Parsoiis Green. 



TREE-WASP'S XEST. 

 Generally built in a tliick bush. 



