392 



INSECTS ABROAD. 



and the other depressed, i.e. one is flattened as if pinched side- 

 ways, and the other as if pressed downwards, so that their mode 

 of action must be very remarkable. 



The fine insect which is given as an example of this group of 

 Hymenoptera is a native of North America. It is not only con- 

 spicuous on account of its size, but for the beauty of its colour- 

 ing. The wings are brown glossed with blue, and the abdomen 

 is bright golden yellow, over which are drawn five bands of 

 purple, so deep that it looks black unless a strong light is 

 brought to bear upon it. The head and thorax are yellowish 

 brown, very much granulated, the colour being darker in the 

 middle of the thorax than on the sides. The under surface is 

 black, and the legs are yellow. 



Pio. 190. -Tremex Cnlomb.i. 

 (Purple and yellow.) 



As is the case with the British species, this is a most variable 

 insect in point of size, some specimens being not much more 

 than half the length of the others, the difference in size being 

 exactly that of a stout man of six feet high and a weazened 

 dwarf of three feet. In the collection of the British INIuseum 

 are great numbers of allied species, not differing materially from 

 those of our own country. 



