162 



Insects. 



ever, it is by no means a rare, although certainly a local, insect. It 

 is plentiful in Hampshire, and flies boldly into houses in August and 

 September. A few years ago, as I was walking by the side of Vir- 

 ginia water, by moonlight, I heard a loud booming noise, evidently 

 caused by some insect darting rapidly by. I was for some time at a 

 loss to conceive what this could be ; at last I succeeded in knocking 

 one down, when I found it was a hornet. By watching the flight of 

 others, I soon discovered the tree containing their nest ; they were 

 carrying on their labours by the light of the moon, apparently quite as 

 busily as if it had been open day. Late in the autumn hornets exca- 

 vate deep holes in decayed trees, and in these they pass the winter. 



Section I. — Gkound Wasps. 

 Scape of the Antennae yellow in front in the Males only. 



Sp. 2. Vespa vulgaris, Linn, Fah., De Geer, St. Fargeau. 



The common wasp {Vespa vulgaris). 



f 



b males. 



c d females. 



e / neuters. 



Female. — Head black ; clypeus yellow, with a black line down the 

 centre, generally having its termination anchor-shaped, but sometimes 

 a simple line, or an indication of a line, with one or three spots be- 

 low, and, in rare instances, without spots ; a crown-shaped spot be- 

 tween the antennae, a line close to the eyes, on the face, and another 

 on their outer margin reaching to the mandibles, yellow ; the mandi- 

 bles also yellow, their inner margin blackish brown. Thorax black; 



