^ Ix ) 



burrow for the spider which had been caught and paralysed 

 and lay close by — a very procryptic species of curiously 

 irregular shape, and dead grass colour. The Pompilid bur- 

 rowed as quickly as any Fossor I have seen (except Bembex), 

 in the usual way, but, unlike others, PompiliJae and Sphegidae, 

 absolutely quietly, without any of the excited buzzing so 

 commonly heard. Once an ant approached, and the Pompilid 

 walked towards it in a threatening manner, with the tip of 

 the abdomen curved strongly downwards and forwards. 

 When the burrow was finished she dragged the spider down, 

 going down first, backwards, and then stood in the hole and 

 pulled the loose earth down with her anterior legs. Then 

 she exhibited a method new to me : other Pompilids that I 

 have seen ram down the earth firmly with steady pressure 

 exerted by the tip of the abdomen, emitting the while a 

 shrill buzz. (It is noteworthy that in the use of the abdomen 

 they all agree; differing from Sphegids, which employ the 

 front of the head as a ram.) This one, however, threw her 

 whole body into such quick, shuddering vibrations that her 

 outUne became blurred, and one heard a succession of quick 

 raps on the ground reminding one of a pneumatic riveting 

 machine at work ! The whole process was extremely rapid. 

 This Pompilid therefore showed two points in her method 

 which I had not seen before : first, the complete silence in 

 which she worked; secondly, the rapid hammering with the 

 tip of the abdomen." 



Spider attacking the fierce Ponerine ant Megaponera 

 FOETENS, F. — Prof. PouLTON exhibited a spider and its prey 

 taken at Itigi by Captain Carpenter on Aug. 21, 1917. The 

 specimens were accompanied by the note : " Spider seen 

 coming out of a nest of Megaponera bearing one feebly strug- 

 gling, upside down in its fangs. Caught in a box the spider 

 settled down to feed on the ant." The small size of the 

 spider as compared with its victim, the redoubtable Termite- 

 raider, was remarkable. 



An East African dragonfly-like Asilid fly of the 

 GENUS Lasiocnemus. — Prof. PouLTON exhibited the specimen 

 referred to as follows by Captain Carpenter in a letter of 

 Aug. 22, 1917 : "On June 16 [at Itigi] I caught a curious 



