OF INSECTS. 
277 
WASP. 
The Wasp is a very ravenous insect: it 
is provided with a powerful sting; and in 
size is somewhat larger than the bee. They 
feed upon meat, fruit, &c., and even devour 
oilier insects. They are curiously striped 
with black and yellow on the belly. Their 
nest is formed of wood, which they tear with 
their teeth from posts, sashes, &c. It is 
about six inches under the surface of the 
earth, is nearly round, ami from twelve to 
fourteen inches in the diameter. This nest 
contains several very curious cells, for the 
purpose of depositing the eggs. Like the 
bee tribe, there are three sorts, viz., males, 
females, and neuters. They are extremely 
prolific; so much so, that it is said a nest 
of Wasps is capable of producing twenty 
or thirty thousand young ones. 
