from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wasp \Wasp\, n. [OE. waspe, AS. w[ae]ps, w[ae]fs; akin to D.
wesp, G. wespe, OHG. wafsa, wefsa, Lith. vapsa gadfly, Russ.
osa wasp, L. vespa, and perhaps to E. weave.] (Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous
insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus
{Vespa}, which includes the true, or social, wasps, some of
which are called {yellow jackets}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The social wasps make a complex series of combs, of a
substance like stiff paper, often of large size, and
protect them by a paperlike covering. The larvae are
reared in the cells of the combs, and eat insects and
insect larvae brought to them by the adults, but the
latter feed mainly on the honey and pollen of flowers,
and on the sweet juices of fruit. See Illust. in
Appendix.
[1913 Webster]
{Digger wasp}, any one of numerous species of solitary wasps
that make their nests in burrows which they dig in the
ground, as the sand wasps. See {Sand wasp}, under {Sand}.
{Mud wasp}. See under {Mud}.
{Potter wasp}. See under {Potter}.
{Wasp fly}, a species of fly resembling a wasp, but without a
sting.
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