Insects. 



8659 



nests of V. vulgaris, in neither of which could traces of Ripiphorus 

 be found. One contained three or four cocoons spun by larvae of 

 Anomalon Vesparum, from which the perfect insects emerged on 

 the 19th. 



On the 2nd of August I took out a large nest of V. germanica, 

 which appeared to have been deprived of the queen some time 

 before. 



On the 3rd I took out a nest of V. vulgaris, which also appeared to 

 have been deprived of the queen some time previously. 



On the 5th I took another nest of V. vulgaris, which was destitute 

 of a queen. The combs were found to be in a mouldy condition, and 

 the nest appeared to be going rapidly to decay. 



On the 6th a nest of V. vulgaris was obtained from inside the head 

 of a felled willow ; mouldiness had spread itself over the combs, which 

 did not contain a single spun-up larva or pupa, and the workers 

 appeared to have very much decreased in number of late. 



On the 7th I took out a nest of V. sylvestris ; it was situated in the 

 side of a ditch, beyond the bank of which it projected, so that a great 

 part of it was exposed to view as well as to the weather. A vast 

 number, both of males and young queens, had become matured, and 

 the labours of the colony were, in fact, about to cease, the work of the 

 nest having been nearly completed. I am not aware that it has been 

 observed by writers upon Natural History that colonies of this species, 

 as well as of V. rufa and V. norvegica, bring their labours to a close 

 full two months earlier than either V. germanica, V. vulgaris or 

 V. Crabro, yet such I have invariably found to be the case, as it may 

 also probably be with V. arborea, a species with whose habits I am 

 unacquainted, never having met with a nest or with a living example 

 of the perfect insect. 



On the 8th I took out a large nest of V. vulgaris, and on the 13th 

 another of V. sylvestris. The latter was situated in a rabbit-burrow. 

 I had known of this nest, and had been watching the progress of the 

 work for some time. All seemed to be going on well till towards the 

 end of July, when I observed that the crown was covered with what I 

 took to be spiders' webs, which gradually extended themselves over 

 the entire nest, increasing in density, while the wasps composing the 

 colony daily decreased in number, till, at the time I took the nest out, 

 few were left. On removing it, it was found to have been entirely 

 destroyed by larvae of Ilythia sociella, which had reduced it to a 

 tough, firm, compact mass, somewhat resembling a huge spider's nest. 

 In the ' Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London/ as 



