THE WASP. 
*5 
insect is plentiful in most parts of England, and may be known 
by the bright orange-red hue which decorates the last three 
segments of the abdomen. The female and worker of this 
species are precisely alike, except in their size; the former, 
which is popularly called the queen bee, measuring nearly an 
inch from the head to the tip of the tail, while the worker is 
scarcely half that length. The male is very variable in colour, 
but is generally black, with thick yellowish hairs upon the 
face, the fore part of the thorax, and the first segment of the 
abdomen. 
I have always found this species to be fiercer than the pre- 
ceding, and have more than once been driven away from the 
neighbourhood of the nest by its rapid and incessant attacks. 
The sting with which this bee is armed is a very formidable 
weapon, and the poison which it conveys into the wound is 
extremely virulent, causing much pain, and leaving a dull, 
aching sensation for several days afterwards. These symptoms, 
however, vary according to the individual who is stung, and 
those which are mentioned are described according to personal 
experience. 
Generally, the Lapidary Bee makes its nest in heaps of stone, 
sometimes choosing those hillocks of rough stones which are 
heaped on the sides of roads, awaiting the stone-breaker and 
his hammer. Sometimes the fallen debris of limestone rocks 
affords a residence for this bee, and, in many instances, it 
burrows into the ground, and there makes its nest, just like 
that of the common humble bee. 
There is one well-known and very handsome insect, which 
is equally disliked by the bee-keeper, the gardener, and the 
grocer, as it annoys them greatly in their respective callings. 
This is the common Wasp ( Vespa vulgaris ), which is equally 
fond of honey, fruit, and sugar ; and as it is armed with a 
potent weapon, is not merely a hateful marauder, but a formid- 
able enemy. The gardener, however, is the least injured of 
the three, for the Wasp confers upon him some slight benefits, 
which counteract in some degree the inroads which it makes 
