Mr. Westwood on the Habits of OJi/nerus ^/ttilope. 79 



Odynerus flying about, settling on the wall, and creeping into the 

 holes which abounded in the rotten mortar. This induced me to 

 watch the spot, in the hope of securing a few good specimens for 

 my cabinet, which possessed only a broken example of the insect. 

 I soon, however, observed what was to me of far greater interest. 

 One of the wasps flew down with something held beneath the whole 

 length of her body, which she succeeded in carrying into her bur- 

 row : another soon appeared, which I endeavoured to catch, in order 

 to discover what the burthen consisted of; but the insect was too 

 quick for me, unprovided as I was with entomological traps ; and 

 with that solicitude which marks all the proceedings of these crea- 

 tures in the construction of their nests, she wheeled upwards to a 

 considerable height, and made a circuit of several minutes' duration, 

 and again attempted to reach her hole, which I again prevented by 

 unsuccessfully attempting to knock her down with my pocket-hand- 

 kerchief, when she soared away, and did not again return. I was, 

 however, more fortunate with another, which I allowed to settle 

 on the wall, and caught as she was creeping with her prey into 

 her burrow : this consisted of the green caterpillar of a Crambus (?) 

 which is about the length of the insect's body, and which I noticed 

 was held by the hind legs of the Odynerus, and consequently ex- 

 tended from the head to the extremity of the abdomen of the latter. 

 Hence the Odynerus is essentially a fossorial Hymenopterous insect, 

 furnishing its nest with larvse, and yet neither the anterior nor pos- 

 terior legs are armed with those very remarkable spines* which cha- 

 racterize those real fossorial Hymenoptera which provision their own 

 nests. Here, therefore, we have another exception to the theory of 

 M. St. Fargeau in addition to those observed by Mr. Shuckard. 



It may be said, indeed, that this instance ought not to be brought 

 forward against the veteran French author, in as much as the insect 

 belongs to the Diplopiera or Vespidce, and not to the Fossoria or 

 Sphegidee ; but when we look at the ends in view, namely, the con- 

 struction of a nest by burrowing, and the provisioning it with living 

 insects, we are surely warranted in expecting that, if the theory 

 were correct, Odynerus and Sphex would be similarly organized. 



In this point of view we also necessarily arrive at the conclusion, 

 that it will be expedient to place the theory of M. St. Fargeau even 

 within narrower limits than those suggested by Mr. Shuckard, since 

 some of the Odyneri burrow in sand, and are yet destitute of spines. 



Some of the Odyneri which I noticed yesterday were employed in 

 carrying a round pellet under the breast, larger than the head of the 



• The joints of the anterior tarsi of the females are very slightly produced at the 

 lateral extremity, forming several teeth. 



