456 IN SECT A. 



the flower of the shrub — St. John's "Wort. Those that were collecting 

 farina, employed their fore-feet in burying several of the anthers 

 at once under the belly, which were again pushed back by the middle 

 legs to the hind legs ; and, by the motion of these legs, I did conceive 

 that the farina was collected and stuck upon the hind thighs. I have 

 often seen the same operation upon the anthers of poppies. It appeared 

 that this farina was the pollen, for it was of the same colour ; and I 

 always observed in those bees which were gathering the farina upon 

 the poppy, that it was also of the same colour with the pollen of the 

 poppy from which they were gathering it. Other bees pushed out their 

 proboscis and sucked honey at the roots of the filamenta or germina. 



Of the Wasps [Vespa vulgaris, Latr.]. 



A wasp is an insect of the bee-tribe, and probably makes one genus, 

 of which there are many species. I shall rank the hornet and wasp of 

 the same genus ; for the wasp appears only to be a small hornet, or the 

 hornet a large wasp. There appears to be a great number of species of 

 this genus in this country, the natural history of all which I do 

 not perfectly know ; but, from their appearance, external form, mode 

 of life and propagation, I shoidd class them with the wasp. Probably 

 the hornet ought to be reckoned the first of the genus. The wasp is a 

 colonizing insect, and they are males and females; but, like several 

 species of this tribe, the females may be divided into two classes — 

 breeders and non-breeders ; and, from the last not breeding - , and from 

 their use in the colony, they are called ' labourers,' The males in this, 

 as in many other tribes of animals, have but little variety in their 

 economy ; therefore their peculiar history is but a short one. 



The male, in most birds, assists in building the nest, hatching, and 

 feeding the young. But the female and the labourers, in the wasp, are 

 the principal individuals to be considered. However, we cannot com- 

 plete the history of the female without giving the economy of the male 

 as far as concerns her. 



They are a very hardy insect, working in almost all weathers, the 

 reason of which must appear from their laying up no store either for 

 themselves or their maggots : and, as it is in the summer only they re- 

 quire food and are employed, there is hardly any continuance of weather 

 so bad as to interrupt their common employ. From the circumstance 

 of not hoarding, they appear to be more industrious than even the bee. 



Of their being offensive and defensive Animals. — As these animals have 

 property to protect, the females and labourers are provided with the 

 instruments called ' sting ;' but the males have none ; therefore we 

 cannot say, absolutely, that wasps are offensive or defensive animals ; 



