278 ' HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



In Mr. West-wood's admirable " Classification of Insects," pub- 

 lished in 1840, the following passage occurs, showing how keenly 

 an accomplished entomologist could feel the want of sound in- 

 formation on a difficult subject. In vol. ii. of that work, page 

 248, Mr. Westwood remarks as follows : " The specific differences 

 of the British species of wasps require a more minute investiga- 

 tion than has yet been given to them. This can only be done by 

 studying the habits of the difierent species, in conjunction with 

 individuals of the different sexes, from the nest of each. Thirty 

 years ago the necessity for such an inquiry was ^pointed out by 

 Latreille, wljo added ' Utinam exergat alius Kirby, qui banc famil- 

 iam elucubret' {i e., ' Would that another Kirby would arise, who 

 would elucidate this family'). But the wasps still remain in as 

 great or greater confusion than they were at that period." 



Since that time, the "other Kirby" has arisen in the person of 

 Mr. F. Smith, who has disentangled the knotty confusion in which 

 the wasps were enveloped, and has recorded his observations in 

 the Catalogue of Hymenoptera in the British Museum, published 

 by order of the trustees in 1858, some forty-eight years after La- 

 treille had invoked assistance. 



Of the species in question Mr. Smith remarks that it is rare in 

 the south and west of England, but is not uncommon in York- 

 shire and plentiful in Scotland. It seems to be a nocturnal insect, 

 for a collector of lepidoptera found that when " sugaring" trees at 

 night for the purpose of attracting moths, numbers of these wasps 

 settled on the sweet bait, and not only were more numerous than 

 the lepidoptera, but actually resented any attempts at dislodg- 

 ment. 



The nest of this insect is always pensile, and is hung from the 

 branches of a tree or shrub, the fir and gooseberry being the 

 favorites. A' pretty specimen in our own collection was taken 

 from a gooseberry-tree in a garden, and another similar nest was 

 found at no great distance. One of these nests I presented to the 

 British Museum, and the other is now before me. It is very 

 small, only having, one " terrace," in which are thirteen cells, ar- 

 ranged 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 

 be 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. 



