Above are given representations of, first, the Queen Bee, placed on the left-hand side; second, the Drone; and, third, the Working Bee.
THE WASP, (Vespa vulgaris,)
Is a very fierce, dangerous, and rapacious insect; it is much larger than the bee, and furnished with a powerful sting. The abdomen is striped with yellow and black. All kinds of Wasps make curious nests; some attach them to the beams of a barn or other building, or place them in the hollow of a large tree, but the common Wasp digs a hole in the ground. Wasps do not construct their combs with quite the same care and accuracy as the bee; nevertheless, their nests are often very ingeniously made, and the material employed by most of them is curious, being a sort of paper or card made from fibres of wood masticated between the jaws of the insects. As they do not lay up a store of honey for their support during winter, they mostly die at that season; and the few that live remain in a torpid state till spring. Their sting is very large; and the poisonous liquor of it, when introduced into the human body, excites inflammation and creates very considerable pain.