of its nest, employing horse-dung for that purpose, and fixing its home either on the stems of reeds, at some distance from the ground, or on the spiny trunks of certain palms. There are also ants which form their nests from vegetable hairs; such as the Formica molestans, which employs extremely minute hairs, and makes with them a nearly globular nest, which is placed in the petioles and vesicles of different plants.

WE now proceed to the third figure in the illustration, placed upon the tree near the centre. This represents the remarkable nest of Abispa Ephippium, an Australian insect, belonging to the wasp tribe.

The nest is not very large, being about three or four inches in diameter, and rather more in height, exclusive of the entrancetunnel. The material is clay, kneaded and masticated by the insect until perfectly plastic, and then moulded into a very remarkable form.

The exterior view of the nest presents a curious outline, showing the pipe through which the insect enters, and which reminds the observer of the tube constructed by several pensile birds. Strange as is the external appearance of the nest, a longitudinal section shows a still more extraordinary construction of the interior. The tube does not merely act as an entrance, but is carried about an inch into the interior of the nest, possibly in order to prevent the young insects from falling out before they are fit to cope with the world. The bottom of the nest through which it passes is nearly flat, and the whole shape of the edifice. is not unlike a large clay thimble, with the opening closed by a circular flat cake of hard mud.

Attached to the ceiling of the nest is a single layer of cells, arranged without any particular order or regularity; and it is a curious fact, that only a single wasp has been observed in the act of building the nests, or making the interior arrangement.

This is not the only insect that makes entrance tubes to its nests; for the Trypoxylon aurifrons, a native of the Amazons, has been noticed to build similar entrances, though much. shorter. This insect will be again mentioned, under the head of Builders.

IN the accompanying illustration may be seen two specimens.

of a remarkable pensile nest that is made by a wasp called Tatua morio, an insect which is notable for having the basal segment of the abdomen narrowed into long and slender footstalks, not unlike that of the Eumenes, and others.

The nest of this species is made of the papery substance used by many wasps, except that the material is so hard and

smooth as to resemble white cardboard. The general form of the nest is shown in the engraving, being somewhat like a sugarloaf, i.e. a round-topped cone with a flat bottom. It is found in several parts of Central America; and in Guiana the nest goes by the popular name of " the Dutchman's pipe," being supposed to bear, in shape and dimensions, some resemblance to the pipebowl celebrated by Washington Irving. The exterior walls are so

hard, firm, and smooth, that they can withstand any vicissitudes. of weather, neither the fierce storms that blow in those regions, nor the torrents of rain that occasionally fall, having any power over an edifice so well protected.

The tiers of cells are variable in number; a rather remarkable fact, as the floors are made before the cells are built. In a good specimen of this nest in the British Museum there are only four tiers of cells. How many tiers are completed before the insects begin to affix cells to them, or whether the cells are made as soon as the floors are finished, are two points in the history of this wasp which have not yet been decided. These floors extend completely to the walls, to which they are fastened on all sides, and the insects gain admission to the different floors. by means of a central opening which runs through them all.

In Mr. Waterton's museum, at Walton Hall, are several specimens of these nests, one of which is cut open so as to show the interior, as well as the central aperture, the whole of the bottom being cut away and raised like the lid of a box. The substance of this nest resembles thin brownish pasteboard, and, as is the custom with most of the wasp tribe, the cells are placed with their mouths downward, the nurses being enabled to attend to their charges by remaining on the floor of the next tier of cells. Taking one row of cells as an average, I counted twenty-four from the central aperture to the circumference, thus giving a tolerable notion of the number of cells in each tier. The aperture is not precisely in the middle, so that some rows of cells are necessarily larger than others, but I purposely selected a row which seemed to afford a fair average.

THE COMMON WASP (Vespa vulgaris) figures in several capacities. It has already been mentioned as a Burrower, deserves notice as a Social Insect, and must now be briefly described as a builder of pensile nests.

In the splendid museum at Oxford, there is an object which never fails to attract the notice of visitors, whether entomologists or not. It is a square glass case, some four feet in height by two in width, and the interior of this large case is almost entirely filled by a single wasp's nest. This enormous nest resembles a turnip in shape, but with the addition of a large knob at the top, by means of which it is suspended.

Its origin is sufficiently remarkable. On the 18th of July, 1857, this nest was found at Cokethorpe Park, Oxfordshire, being then of moderate dimensions, and measuring about five inches in diameter. It was taken from the ground, and hung near the window of a dwelling-house upon the ground floor, so as to give the inmates facility for procuring food. There was no danger in the experiment, for, as has been mentioned on page 146, the wasp is really a good-natured insect, unless irritated, and can be watched as safely as the hive bee.

In order to induce the labourers to work with more assiduity, the wasps were supplied with food in the shape of sugar and beer, of which mixture they consumed a large amount, their daily allowance being a pound of sugar to a pint of beer, and the aggregate weight being two pounds. Under such favourable auspices they built their nest at a wonderful rate, when they were suddenly reinforced after a singular manner. It so happened that on the first floor of the house two other wasps' nests had been placed. The workers of these nests were not fed like their kinsmen below, and in consequence, about the end of August they deserted their own house, and united with the more favoured wasps on the ground floor. The three colonies having thus joined their forces, the nest grew with marvellous rapidity, and at last attained the gigantic size which has already been mentioned.

In shape it is very irregular, as though the turnip to which it was compared had been made of a soft yielding substance, and had been thrown down and roughly handled. The entrance is close to the bottom of the nest, and a little on one side, and just by the opening the nest is flattened, and seems as if it had been pinched by some giant finger and thumb. For this singular structure we are indebted to Mr. S. Stone of Brighthampton.

THERE are also certain British wasps which always make pensile nests, though none of them are so complicated or so finely constructed as those of the pasteboard wasps of hotter climates.

These are popularly called TREE WASPS, and the best known among these pensile wasps is the insect which is sometimes known as Vespa Britannica, but which is now named Vespa Norwegica, and may therefore be called the NORWEGIAN WASP.

I may here mention that, until a very late period, the history of the wasp-whether British or foreign-was in dire chaos, the species, sexes, and varieties being so confounded together, that even the best entomologists could make nothing of them.

In Mr. Westwood's admirable "Classification of Insects,' published in 1840, the following passage occurs, showing how keenly an accomplished entomologist could feel the want of sound information on a difficult subject. In Vol. II. of that work, page 248, Mr. Westwood remarks as follows: "The specific differences of the British species of wasps require a more minute investigation than has yet been given to them. This can only be done by studying the habits of the different species, in conjunction with individuals of the different sexes from the nest of each. Thirty years ago the necessity for such an inquiry was pointed out by Latreille, who added Utinam exergat alius Kirby, qui hanc familiam elucubret' (i.e. 'Would that another Kirby would arise, who would elucidate this family'). But the wasps still remain in as great or greater confusion than they were at that period."

Since that time, the "other Kirby " has arisen in the person of Mr. F. Smith, who has disentangled the knotty confusion in which the wasps were enveloped, and has recorded his observations in the Catalogue of Hymenoptera in the British Museum, published by order of the trustees in 1858, some forty-eight years after Latreille had invoked assistance.

Of the species in question Mr. Smith remarks that it is rare in the South and West of England, but is not uncommon in Yorkshire and plentiful in Scotland. It seems to be a nocturnal insect, for a collector of lepidoptera found that when "sugaring" trees at night, for the purpose of attracting moths, numbers of these wasps settled on the sweet bait, and not only were more numerous than the lepidoptera, but actually resented any attempts at dislodgment.

The nest of this insect is always pensile, and is hung from the branches of a tree or shrub, the fir and gooseberry being the favourites. A pretty specimen in our own collection was taken from a gooseberry-tree in a garden, and another similar nest was found at no great distance. One of these nests I presented to the British Museum, and the other is now before It is very small, only having one "terrace," in which are

me.