i] INTRODUCTION 5 



length when in repose : the hinder half of the out- 

 stretched wing is, in repose, doubled underneath the 

 front half, so that the front wing then exposes only 

 half of its full width. For this reason the mud- wasps 

 and the social-wasps are grouped together under 

 the name Diploptera (double-winged). Since, how- 

 ever, it is not our object to present a treatise on the 

 anatomical structure, but rather an account of the 

 interesting and fascinating ways of merely a few of 

 these remarkable insects, we will now pass on to 

 consider the habits of some !of the " diggers." 



CHAPTER II 



FOSSORES OR DIGGER-WASPS : POMPILID 



SECTION 



FROM an evolutionary standpoint the insects of 

 this section are the lowest of those with which we 

 are concerned ; and it is interesting to note here and 

 there among their members evidences of a tendency 

 towards the higher and more complex conditions that 

 now obtain among the most advanced of the social- 

 wasps or in the honey-bee. The majority of the 

 "diggers' 5 are energetic, fussy, bustling insects in- 

 habiting for the most part sandy districts, such as 

 the Surrey heaths, or sand-dunes of our coasts. 



