Insects, 167 



stance of this in a colony of hornets, which had formed their nest in 

 the trunk of a tree ; and at the distance of about a hundred yards was 

 an out-house, some of the posts of which were much decayed, and all 

 the hornets appeared to resort to it : there was a constant flight to 

 and from the out-house, and none were going in other directions. 



Sp. 3. Vespa rufa, Linn, and Fah. 



The Female is 8—9 lines in length. Head black ; clypeus yellow, 

 a black line down the centre, with an anchor-shaped termination, 

 sometimes the line is abbreviated, forming a simple dot ; mandibles 

 yellow, teeth dark ferruginous ; a crown-shaped spot at the base of the 

 antennae, a line at the inner margin, '* 



and behind at the upper margin of 

 the eyes, yellow; then down to the 

 mandibles covered with silvery hair. 

 Thorax black ; the tegulae with a line 

 from them to the collar, a spot under 

 each wing, and two on the scutellum, 

 yellow ; legs yellow, femora black, yel- 

 low at the knees, generally a black 

 spot behind, on the anterior tibiae. 

 The abdomen varies in its markings ; 

 the first segment has sometimes a cen- <j i 



tral and two lateral spots black, unit- ^'^'p^^ '"/«• 9 "^^le. h female, i neuter. 

 ed by a ferruginous band, the second segment has a broadish band, 

 dentate in the centre, uniting with a central spot, black, the remain- 

 ing segments have separated black dots ; in others, the black dots on 

 the first segment unite, forming a subinterrupted black band, tinged 

 with rufous, the spots on the second segment unite with the central 

 dentation, the rest separated ; the first and second segment vary great- 

 ly, one having more or less of a rufous tinge. 



Neuter. — Length 5^ — 7 lines. Exactly agreeing with the female, 

 admitting perhaps of greater variety in the colouring of the abdomen, 

 the first and second segments being sometimes entirely rufous, with a 

 narrow yellow margin. 



The Male is 7 — 8 lines long. Head black ; antennae filiform, the 

 scape yellow in front, otherwise coloured as in the other sexes ; the 

 two spots on the scutellum have generally an additional yellow streak 

 under them ; the abdomen is sometimes almost destitute of markings 

 and entirely yellow, at others beautifully variegated with rufous. 



This is an exceedingly beautiful and distinct species. It is not so 



