Insects, 



169 



a bank at North End, Hampstead, and another m a similar situation 

 opposite Sion House, near Richmond. 



Sp. 5. Vespa britannica, Leach, 



Female.— Length 7—8 lines. Head black ; clypeus yellow, a black 

 line down the centre terminating in a large anchor-shaped spot, the 

 under side of the scapes, a crown-shaped patch between them, a narrow 

 streak close to the eyes, another behind them at their upper margin, 

 together with the mandibles, yellow, inner margin of the latter black; 

 the antennae are more or less piceous beneath. Thorax black ; the 

 tegulse piceous; a line from them to the collar, a spot under the wings 

 and two on the scutellum, yellow ; wings slightly fuscous ; legs yel- 

 low, femora black towards their 

 base ; a black spot generally on 

 the anterior and intermediate ti- 

 biae behind. The first segment 

 of the abdomen has a black band 

 at the base, slightly dentate in 

 the centre, the second has a broad 

 band, interrupted laterally by a 

 large rufous patch, the remaining 

 segments have black bidentate 

 bands. 



The Neuter is 5^ — 6 lines long. 

 It corresponds with the female in 

 its markings, but the abdominal 

 segments have in some instances " ^ 



separated black dots. ''''^^ l^ntcmnica. n male. female, p neuter. 



Male. — Length 7 lines. Antennae filiform, scape yellow in front, 

 the underside of the remaining segments piceous. The thorax has 

 two spots on the scutellum, a line from the tegulae to the collar, and 

 a spot under the wings, yellow ; legs yellow, femora black, yellow at 

 the knees. Abdomen as in the neuter. 



I had a specimen of the neuter of this species given me as V. nor- 

 vegica, which I think it cannot be, as all the describers of that spe- 

 cies distinctly mention the immaculate scutellum, and all the sexes 

 of V. britannica are distinctly bimaculate. Then it has been supposed 

 to be the V. media of Latreille, and perhaps of De Geer, but it neither 

 agrees with the figure nor the description of the latter author, and 

 there is a specimen of the male in the British Museum, with a label 

 attached, supposed to be in Latreille's hand-writing, which does not 



