96 



There is a small humble bee also, which may often be 

 seen sucking the juicy sweets from flowers. It is very 

 amusing to see a large bee come and push into the 

 mouth of a closed morning glory and stay till satisfied ; 

 then come out backwards. When the flower is long 

 stemmed such as the foxglove, the bees pierce the flow- 

 er tube with their proboscis and secure their meal in 

 this way. 



Hornets and yellow jackets might be treated upon 

 under the heading of bees and w^asps. Both these are 

 dangerous foes and when disturbed prove very trouble- 

 some. Hornets are large with a black body encircled 

 with a number of white rings being showy as well as 

 pugnacious. They make their nests very large, form- 

 ed like a rough ball with but one opening. The in- 

 terior is made much on the plan of wasps nests, they 

 being one above the other, making several stories. The 

 nest is sometimes placed on a low tree in the woods, or 

 in some old building. The yellow jacket is much 

 smaller than the hornet but has an equal amount of 

 pluck. Their bodies are bright yellow, encircled with 

 a number of black rings. Their eyes are also black. 

 They make a nest the same as the hornets except 

 smaller and is more conical in shape. It is placed in a 

 box, under steps or in the gable of a building. 



There are several species of wasps which are interest- 

 ing to the observer. The common brown wasp and 

 the blue mud wasp, together with many others; also 

 some insects which look much like wasps but are real- 

 ly flies. The wasp does not provide for its winter 

 wants as does the bee, but feasts and revels during 

 the summer, and when severe weather comes many of 



