SALIUS. 123 



recurrent nervure before the middle ; the basal or transverse 

 medial nervure takes its rise before the apex of the 1st svibmedial 

 cell, the cubital nervure stops short of the margin of the wing, and 

 the discoidal nervure reaches, ordinarily, up to it ; in many species 

 a hyaline discoidal spot is present, conspicuous when the wing is 

 of a dark shade ; in the hind wing the cubital nervure originates, 

 as a rule, just before the apex of the anal cell. Legs very long, the 

 apex of the posterior tibia, when the legs are stretched, reaching 

 well beyond the apex of the abdomen ( $ ) ; the armature of the 

 legs varies, but generally is well developed ; the anterior tarsi are 

 ciliated on the outside, the posterior tibiae are angular or sub- 

 angular, never quite cylindrical, in most of the species grooved, 

 spined, and serrated, very often strongly so ; claws with one or 

 more erect teeth on their under margins, or bifid. Abdomen pseudo- 

 sessile, the 2nd ventral segment with a transverse impressed line 

 or groove, as a rule well-marked in the female, nearly obsolete 

 and difficult of detection in the male. 



Very little is known of the habits of the species belonging to this 

 genus, which contains some of the largest forms of Hymeuoptera 

 in the World. Some, like Pompilus, make their nests in the ground, 

 digging these themselves, and providing spiders as food for their 

 broods ; others make use of holes in trees, and provision their 

 nests with cockroaches, or, like the Larridce, with crickets. 



Key to the Species. 



A. Tarsal claws bidentate. * 



a. Wings some shade of fulvous yellow. 

 a' . Head and thorax black. 

 d^. Wings a peculiar oily fuscous 



yellow »S'. anthracinus, p. 126. 



U', Wings broadly infuscate at base 

 and apical margin. 

 w\ Fore wing with the apical 

 margin infuscate up to the base 



of the 2nd cubital cell S. satelles, p. 127. 



b^. Fore wing with the apical 

 margin infuscate only up to 



apex of the 3rd cubital cell . . S. hellicosus, p. 127. 

 h' . Head and thorax ferruginous, with 

 ferruginous pile, or fulvous red. 

 a . Abdomen black. 



a^. Median segment ferruginous . . S. aureosericeus, p. 127. 

 P. Median segment black. 



a'. Apical margins of the wings 



pale S. ceylonicus, p. 128. 



b*. Apical margin of fore wing 

 fuscous, 

 o'. Median segment posteriorly 

 rounded, with a gentle 



slope to the apex S. fulvipennis, p. 129. 



b^. Median segment posteriorly 

 with a steep slope, almost 

 trmicate S. perplexus, p. 130. 



