ZOOLOGY. 113 



HYMENOPTEEA (Bees, Wasps, &c.) 



One of the most common insects of this order, is Polistes 

 pallipes, conunonly known to the inhabitants as the " Ber- 

 muda Wasp." The nest, or, more properly speaking, comb, 

 of this species, is usually fastened to the branches of the 

 wild sage {Lantana salvifolid), and is about the size of a 

 man's hand ; flat, with its upper surface shiny and appa- 

 rently waterproof, having the mouths of the cells reversed, 

 or opening beneath, of which we counted some two himdred 

 and eighty in a specimen we brought home and presented 

 to the British Museum. When constructing their combs 

 in the cedar groves and cultivated parts, they appear to 

 choose the proximity of a wall, in preference to the open, 

 perhaps for shelter from the winds. Mr. Hurdis informs 

 us that their combs abound in the marshes, where they 

 hang suspended from the stems of the tall sedges. It is 

 a cowardly insect, and is not half the plucky fellow our 

 English wasp is, who always guards his nest with vigi- 

 lance, and attacks the intruder with the greatest fury ; but 

 our friend of Bermuda will not only let you come close to 

 his comb, but will positively allow you to cut oif the 

 branch whereon his abode rests, without any molestation 

 on his part. It is prettily marked, of a lightish brown 

 colour, striped with bands, brown and buff, across the 

 abdomen. 



A handsome, although rare insect, is Pelopaus ceruleus, 

 known on the islands as the " blue wasp." We only saw 

 one specimen during our stay, and this we fortunately 

 captured, in the garden at Hermitage. It has the thorax 

 and abdomen of a bright metallic dark-blue, and the wings 



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