Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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.] (Zo["o]l.) 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}. 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 larv[ae] are reared in the cells of the combs, and eat insects and insect larv[ae] 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. {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.