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Show INSECTA. h orifice of which mortar in walls some inc h es ·m depth '.a th tt aen d then recurve d ' he forms an exter1· or tu b e, a t first stt·algd 'n thick, con t or ttd sc omposed of an earthy past.e ' ar. range11 sh1 e places f rom e.l g ht threads. In the cavity of the IOte~lO:lce ge resembling cater- to tw' elve little gt·een 1a rvre 0 f a slml ar a ' 1 • 1 em in circular ayers. Pillars but without feet, at·rangm&' lt t ifice and destroys the Having' lairl an egg . . she clost!S t lC or 10 It, 144 scaffolding without( 1 )· bd men is narrow, elongated · of the a o In the others, the first rmg late as in and pyriform, and the second campanu ' EuMENES proper, . . Zethi(2) of Fabricius, and the Dis· To which we may reumte the crelis(3) of t.atreille. • z Faun. Insect. Germ., LXIII, 12, E. coarctata, Fab., .Pan ., h· bl ck with yellow spots; pos- the male. F1. ve 11' 0 es m lengt ' a ' fi • 1 r of the same colour; rst terior margin of the abdommad an:upyl riform with two yellow ring of the a bdo rne n elongate an ch side o'f the second, wh '1 c h blique band of yellow on ea dots; an o d campanulate. is the largest of all an s herical nest of very fine earth .on The female constructs a p r g to Geoffroy, she fills Wlth the stems of plants, which, accorc l)n d h deposits an egg( 4 • ' . honey, an t en . 1 hardly longer than they are Wlde, Sometimes the man~Ib esl are ted at the extremity; the ligula b dl and obhque y trunca and are roa y . elon ated, and the clypeus nearly square. is short or but shghtly. g b en us of the Wasps, propel'ly so These species constitute the su g called, or 1 "'9 136· several Vesp~ of Fa·· (1) S ee L at. , Gener· Crust· et Insect, IV' P· .) ' ' bricius. 1 eus is longitudinal, ·and prolonged into o. (2) Lat., Ibid. In EuMENES, tl~~lc Yj, rm a long narrow and pointed rostrum; point anteriorly;. the united m;n:~d ~e;ely form :n open angle in ZETnus, bere they are proportiOnally sborte.' . b d and has no anterior prolonga· also the clypeus is as br~~ as l;t ~s lo:~;:tl/~~a:~ular. The maxillary palpi do tion. The second cubtt ce . IS p . aws The are longer in DiscmLius, not extend beyond the e~tr~~~t~o~~ ~; tte ~andibl~s and clypeus. We s~ould which resembles Zethus m b . . . th'•s last genus are Pohstes, 1 I t placed by Fa r1CIUS m . d observe, that most oft le nsec s d' iF ,. fi m that of the ordinary species, an in which, however, the ahdomen 1 e.s ro p.pproximates to that of an Eumenea. (S) Lat., Ibid. (4) Lat., Ibid. HYMENOPTERA. 145 VEsPA, PousTEs, Lat. These Insects unite in numeJ·ous societies, composed of males, females and neuters. The two last detach particles of old wood or bark with their mandibles, moisten and reduce them into a pultaceous mass resembling that of paper or pasteboard, and construct combs or nests with it "that are usually horh;ontal, and suspended above by one or more pedicles; on the inferior side is a range of vertical cells in the form of hexagonal and truncated pyramids. These cells are approximated exclusively to the use of the larvre and nymphs, a cell to each. The number of combs that compose this nest varies. It is sometimes exposed, and at others surrounded by an envelope, pierced with a common and almost always central opening, which sometimes corresponds to a series of holes which communicate with the interior, the combs adhere to the parietes of the envelope, whether they be in the open air or concealed in the earth or hollows of trees. The figure of these structures varies acco1:ding to the species. The females commence the business alone, and lay eggs that produce neuters or labourers, which assist in enlarging the nest and taking care of the succeeding young ones. The community' is solely composed of these two kinds of individuals until the beginning of autumn, at which period the young males and females make their appearance. All the larvre and nymphs which cannot complete their ultimate metamorphosis before the month of November are put to death and dragged from their cells by the labourers, which perish along with the males on the approach of winter. Some of the females survive, and in the spring become the founcers of a new colony. Wasps feed on Insects, vi_ands of var·ious sorts, or fruit, and nourish their larvre with the juices of these substances. The latter, which on account of the inferio.r situation of the mouths of their cells are placed with their head downwards, shut themselves up and spin a cocoon when about to become nymphs. The males never work. In several species, that portion of the internal margin of the mandibles, which is beyond the angle and terminates it, is shorter than that which ~rece~es the. angle; the middle of the anterior part of the clypeus pl'OJects m a pomt. These species form the subgenus PoLISTEs of Lat., Fab.(l) (f) Lat., Gen. Crust. et Insect., IV, p. 141. Those species in which the abd . . men . al n· . al ' 0 18 ov or e tpbc , narrowed at base, and sometimes even placed on a long VoL. IV.-T , |
