76 NATURAL HISTORY 



the point of which being in the middle and fore part of the head, they 

 are not a pin's breadth asunder. The females have the same eyes 

 placed in the same situation, but without the above black mark. The 

 yellow on the head of the male is brighter. The body of the male 

 is shaped very much like the female's, excepting at the point of the 

 abdomen, where the last scale is rounded off; while that in the female 

 is pointed: and in the male the penis may be seen projecting a little. The 

 number of the scales of the abdomen also differs, being seven in number 

 in the male, in the female only six. The colour of the male is not 

 much different from that of the female, excepting that there is not as 

 much of the bright brown on the thorax ; nor are the marks on the back 

 anywhere different : but, on the under side of the abdomen, the bright 

 brown marks which are on the middle of each scale are smaller and 

 sharper than in the female, and of course there is more of the bright 

 yellow : the last scale on the belly is much smaller, has very little 

 yellow on it and is blunt, while in the female it is much larger, sharper, 

 and of a brighter yellow, with a small fissure at its point, beyond which 

 the sting and the feelers on each side may be seen projecting a little 

 almost at all times. 



Of the Females. — The females differ much more in size than the males ; 

 and this does not depend entirely on their being impregnated, for there 

 were several whose oviducts were small, which were as large as the one 

 which was found full of ova. Others were smaller than the males, and no 

 way different from the large ones, except that the small onesAvere brighter 

 in colour. Females of the common size were rather smaller than the 

 males, and nearly of the same colour. The largest females were not so 

 bright in colour ; the yellow appearing dirty, but the brown equally as 

 bright everywhere. 



Of the Fat. — On opening the abdomen the fat appeared much whiter 

 and more in quantity in the males than in the females. It is diffused 

 among the intestines in small flakes slightly attached to one another, 

 and lies principally on each side of the intestines. In the females the 

 fat is very much in quantity in the autumn, but in the spring It is 

 much less, and of a brown colour. The oesophagus is very small, about 

 the size of a large horsehair, as it passes through the union of the 

 thorax with the abdomen, and enlarges a little before it enters the 

 stomach. The stomach is situated under the first and second scale of 

 the abdomen, and is a transparent bag of the shape of an egg, about 

 the size of a large pea, the large end towards the oesophagus. The 

 oesophagus enters on the top of it. The small end terminates in the 

 pylorus about the size of a hair-pin, which continues of this size for 

 the twelfth of an inch, then suddenly contracts to a very small neck. 



