Proceedings 9 
exactly in the same style as the As¢afa, and often deceiy- 
ing one for the moment as to its identity. 
Tachytes pectinipes is another closely-allied, but com- 
moner insect in sandy places, yet accounts differ as to 
what it preys upon. According to continental authorities 
it always preys on the larve of Orthoptera, and Smith says 
that he has taken it at Weybridge with a small species of 
grasshopper. Shuckard, however, says that he has fre- 
quently caught it with a small sandy-coloured caterpillar, 
and I once took it at Sandown Bay, carrying a small light- 
brown caterpillar. 
The members of the genus Zryfoxy/on nest usually in 
decaying wood, though they sometimes burrow in the 
ground. The commonest, and largest British representative 
of the genus, 7. figudus, I have found burrowing both in 
old posts and in hard sandy banks. 7. clavicerum 1 have 
only found burrowing in posts or palings. The slender 
T. attenuatum 1 have only obtained by collecting perfor- 
ated bramble stems in winter. All the species prey on 
small spiders. 
Ammophila is a widely distributed genus. The species 
are very striking in their appearance, their slender waists 
being particularly noticeable. The common 4. sabulosa 
provisions its nests with caterpillars, while the more robust 
A. hirsuta captures spiders. he allied species of Peéo- 
peus also prey on spiders. 
The members of that showy and almost universally dis- 
tributed genus, Spex, make burrows in the ground, and 
usually, if not always, store species of Orthoptera. The 
beautiful species of Ampulex capture huge cockroaches. 
The small, black species of Pemphredon provision their 
nests with Aphides, and are thus very useful to gardeners. 
They burrow in decaying wood, or in cut bramble stems. 
The larve spin no cocoon, and the change from the larval 
state to the perfect insect can be seen in its various stages 
by splitting perforated bramble stems in the spring. P. 
lethifer is by far the most abundant of the bramble bur- 
rowers. 
Diodontus is another genus of small species, preying on 
