1912} North American Scoliine 297 
be ascertained by a study of the work concerned, for the fac- 
tors which were used to separate the sections of Guerin’s groups 
when compared with the important writers on Scolia become 
hard to discern. The following is a translation of Guerin’s 
classification leading to Ascoli: 
I. Superior wings with four cubital cells. 
(The writer’s three closed cubital cells.) 
Il. All the cubital cells reach to the radial cell. 
A. Two recurrent nervures. (Cosila). 
B. One recurrent nervure. S. G. Ascoli. 
As an explaining phrase Guerin writes beneath division 
B “Nous n’en connaissons pas encore.’’ Of course he does 
not give any examples as he has under his other divisions in his 
tables. Under these conditions the writer is not yet prepared 
to use the term Ascoli. If it should ever be adopted the writer 
sees no reason why Scolia flavifrons Fab. could not still remain 
the type under this older name. 
HABITS. 
Having never been able to study this group of insects in the 
field the writer has been obliged to depend on other writings 
on Scolia for information as to their habits. Westwood says 
that the genus Scolia comprises many species, inhabiting the 
hottest regions of the globe. Dufour states that Scolia hor- 
torum abounds in the very hottest situations and that it is 
very fond of revelling in strong scented flowers. A correspond- 
ent of the Entomological Magazine (Vol. III, p. 436) states 
that Scolia bicincta Fab. makes its burrows in sand banks, to 
the depth of eighteen inches, with a very wide mouth; in 
digging into one a female had entered he found a large locust, 
L. lineola, which is probably its prey. The males of this genus 
are usually taken singly on flowers, but the males of Scolia 
interrupta and four-punctata, which are extremely sluggish, 
are found crowding on the ears of grass near the seaside, where 
they pass the night. Latreille thought that Scolia punctata 
was parasitic upon some of the bees which build in old wood, 
and Shuckard states he caught S. punctata entering into the 
cells of Osmia bicormis. Robineau Desvoidy has proved this 
fact, having found cocoons of S. punctata in the cells of Osmia 
helicicola, in which situation he observed the metamorphosis of 
this species without however, having detected the female in 
her operations. Riley in the sixth report of the Missouri 
