I'OMI'ILID.E. 



171 



tliat whilst burrowing it makes a loud whirring buzz ; ami, in 

 the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, he 

 states that he has detected both ^i. sabidosa and A. hirsnta 

 dragging along large spiders. Mr. Curtis observed it bury 

 the caterpillars of a Noctua and Geometra. St. Fargeau, how- 

 ever, states that ^1. subidofia collects caterpillars of large size, 

 especially those of Noctuse, with a surprising perseverance, 

 whereas A. arenaria, forming a distinct section in the genus, 

 collects spiders." (Westwood.) 



Ammophila cementaria Smith, and ^1. urnaria Klug, are the 

 more common species in this country ; they are red and white, 

 while A. luctuosa Smith is a black, shorter, stouter, more hirsute; 

 species. They may all be seen flying about hot sandy places, 

 and alishtins: near wells and standins; water to drink. 



PoMPiLiD.E Leach. In this famil}* the bod}' is oblong, the 

 sides often compressed, and the head shorter, Avhen seen from 

 above, being more trans- 

 versely ovate than in 

 the preceding famih'. 

 The antennae are long, 

 not geniculate, and in 

 the males are stouter 

 and with shorter joints 

 than in the females. 

 The eyes are narrow 

 oval, and the maxillary 

 palpi are six, and the 

 labial palpi four-jointed. 

 The prothorax is ex- 

 tended on the sides back 

 to the base of the wings, 

 which latter are large and broad, the fore pair having three 

 subcostal cells. The legs are very long and slender, with thick 

 slender sprues. The Pompilidoi, of which about seven hun- 

 dred species are known, have a wide geographical range, from 

 the temperate zone to the tropics. Like the Sjihegidoi, they 

 oviposit in the body of other insects, storing their nests, usually 

 built in the sand, with spiders and caterpillars. 



The head of Pompilus (Fip;. 91) is a little longer, seen from 



