Wasps and their ways . ot gone to church, hadnot been stirring up the hornets, and en-raged them to the point of being glad tosting any human head they could reach ? At least the hornets that drove LordClydes army into the river were excus-able, as they were first attacked by thesoldiers. VESPAS STING 89 It seems that — *A picket of LordClydes army were amusing themselvesthrowing stones at an odd-looking massof mud and straw hanging on a marksman, more successful than hiscomrades, sent a stone with great effectinto the centre of the mysterious object,when out flew a cloud of hornets a
Wasps and their ways . ot gone to church, hadnot been stirring up the hornets, and en-raged them to the point of being glad tosting any human head they could reach ? At least the hornets that drove LordClydes army into the river were excus-able, as they were first attacked by thesoldiers. VESPAS STING 89 It seems that — *A picket of LordClydes army were amusing themselvesthrowing stones at an odd-looking massof mud and straw hanging on a marksman, more successful than hiscomrades, sent a stone with great effectinto the centre of the mysterious object,when out flew a cloud of hornets anddrove Lord Clydes invincibles into theriver. The sting of the wasp is likethat of the bee in structureand action. It is composed of a sharp-pointed sheath with a length-wise groove on one side, intowhich are fitted two barbedlances that play up and downin the groove. The lances are moved by a system oflevers composed of flat horny plates con-nected to the upper end of the sheath andlances and controlled by 90 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS The sheath is also barbed at the end soas to hold the sting in place while thelances are being thrust deeper and deeperinto the skin. A poison-sac communicates with theupper end of the sting, and from the sacthe poison is pumped into the wound bythe motion of the lances. The sting of the wasp is very sharp andvery small, and it is the poison pumpedinto the wound rather than the wounditself that causes the unpleasant conse-quences of a wasp sting. The sting, ifunpoisoned, would cause no more painthan the prick of a fine needle. Usually the wasp, like the bee, loses itssting when it plunges that weapon intoan enemy. The barbs that point back-wards hold the sting fast, and the effortto pull it out often results in tearing thesting from the wasps body, and as a con-sequence of the mutilation, the insect soondies. The larger hornets are often strong VESPAS STING 91 enough to withdraw the sting uninjured,and where this is the case they do nothe
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