174 MESSES. C. HOENE AND E. SMITH ON HTMENOPTEEA 



" One of these insects stung me on the thumb ; but by sucking the place for about a 

 quarter of an hour I drew out the poison, and the pain and swelling were afterwards 

 very slight. 



" August 20, 1863.— This evening, having prepared two large squibs filled with damp 

 gunpowder, I proceeded to take two nests, one of V, orientalis and one of F. cincta, 

 both in similar situations. Having lighted the touch-paper, the end was placed at the 

 mouth of the hole and wet clay was plastered around. The dense smoke and intense 

 heat thus killed every perfect insect in the nests, which I shortly after dug out for 

 the purpose of examination. One nest was buried forthwith in a hole previously 

 prepared ; and the one taken to be set up was that of F. orientalis^ to which all the 

 succeeding remarks will refer. 



"Both nests were constructed of earth tempered with water, and I could trace no 

 signs of gluten of any kind in them. In the nest prepared by me were seven ranges of 

 cells; and at the time of taking it, from 400 to 500 hornets were at home. Although I 

 took out every dead perfect insect, there were from forty to fifty nearly hatched by 

 5 A.M. next morning, showing with what enormous rapidity they increase. The nest 

 was placed under a large wire dish-cover, and a nest of the yellow ant before referred to 

 was placed with them, so that every young hornet was kUled as soon as born. 



"July 1, 1864, Benares. — As a boy, when in England, I have watched a homet carry 

 off a fly sitting on a door-handle ; and to-day I saw one pounce on a small honey-bee 

 deep in the pollen of a flower, and, taking him off, sit down and eat him quietly ; and 

 from the number hovering about flowers, this would seem to be a favourite food. 



"July 19, 1864. — ^Watched hornets catching and eating the workers oi Termites, 

 whose galleries I had just destroyed on the bark of a tree, where, in consequence, the 

 blind insects were running wildly about. 



"August 19, 1864. — Watched them more narrowly and carefully. Saw that one 

 caught at least ten Termites, one after the other, and made them all up into a ball with 

 his jaws, when the said ball was taken away, evidently to feed the young larv« with a 

 rich and juicy morsel, which, however, would be strongly tinctured with acid." 



Vespa flaviceps. Smith. (Plate XXI. figs. 10 & 11.) 

 This interesting little wasp lives in banks, making a cylindrical nest covered with 

 party-coloured paper, and filled internally by layer upon layer of cells, seven or eight 

 series generally completing the structure. They were found at Binsur, a mountain 

 about twelve miles from Almorah, about 7500 feet above the sea, in nests about 2 feet 

 under ground, and built up round some root. 



The time of their greatest activity is in the rains {I e. July), and they may then be 

 seen coming in and going out of the nest in great numbers. 



One of the nests taken was at the side of a garden-walk; and for some ten or fifteen 

 days none could pass that way without a good chance of being stung. Although the 



