From: Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

Any of numerous winged hymenopterus insects possessing smooth, slender bodies, and an abdomen attached by a narrow stalk. They have well developed wings, biting mouthparts, and often administer painful stings.

IV

(Slp.: a. 2 12-pdrs.)

The fourth Wasp, a sloop chartered on Lake Champlain late in the summer of 1813, served as a tender for Commodore Thomas Macdonough's fleet during the latter part of 1813 and into 1814. Small and a poor sailer, Wasp saw no combat. She was returned to her owners early in 1814; and her battery was transferred to the newly launched schooner, Ticonderoga.