34 MISC. PUBLICATION 318, U. 8S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
reddish yellow with golden hair, and has four wings. This insect has 
complete life changes. The mouth parts are fitted for chewing and 
lapping. This wasp, Ammobia ichneumonea, in the adult form feeds 
on flowers, and the larva feeds on paralyzed grasshoppers. It hiber- 
nates in a cell in the ground, probably as a full-grown larva or pupa. 
Because it destroys grasshoppers it can be considered beneficial. 
Bald-faced hornet.—A nother of the wasps, and one having a short, 
thick body, is the bald-faced hornet. The queen of this species is 
about seven-eighths of an inch long; the workers are somewhat smaller. 
This wasp is black with creamy- 
white markings and has four wings 
which enable it to fly rapidly. The 
mouth parts are fitted for chewing 
and lapping. The bald-faced hor- 
net also is able to inflict a painful 
sting. The adult feeds on flowers, 
fruit juices, and honeydew; the 
larva feeds on softened insects. This 
insect has complete life changes; the 
adult. queens hibernate in sheltered 
Teo en = eeraecar to nee places such as under bark or in 
crevices. When the days begin to 
warm in the spring, the queen starts the construction of her paper- 
like nest, and as soon as sufficient. comb is built, begins to rear her 
brood. As the season advances and the first workers emerge, the 
nest is increased in size by tearing out the inner lining, widening the 
layers of comb, and adding more layers of comb below. Additional 
layers of the paperlike covering of the nest are then built on the out- 
side. This material consists of wood fibers mixed with a salivary secre- 
tion, is waterproof and very tough, and affords protection for the nest. 
The nest sometimes attains the size of a foot or more in diameter. 
The economic importance of this insect is questionable, although it 
does kill some destructive insects. The bald-faced hornet shown here 
is Vespula maculata, and belongs to the order Hymenoptera. 
Parasitic wasps.—No doubt many persons have encountered wasp- 
like insects with long appendages lke the one shown here, but have 
not realized that these 
threadlike structures are 
for egg laying. The 
insect illustrated here, 
Megarhyssa macrurus, is 
an inch or more long. 
The egg-laying structure, 
or ovipositor, may be 3 
inches long. The body 
is very slender, light 
brown, with lighter chev- FIGURE 86.—Parasitic wasp. 
rons along the sides of the abdomen. Although the adult has chew- 
ing mouth parts, it is doubtful if it does very much feeding, but the 
larva feeds by sucking the blood from the larva of the pigeon horn- 
tail, The long egg-laying appendages permit this wasp to drill 
