The Pompili 



of generalizing about this expeditious me- 

 thod of estabHshment. Other PompiH are 

 true diggers, vahantly sinking a burrow in 

 the soil, to a depth of a couple of inches. 

 These include the Eight-spotted Pompilus 

 {P. octopunctatus, PANZ.), with her black- 

 and-yellow livery and her amber wings, a 

 little darker at the tips. For her game she 

 chooses the Epeirae {E. fasciata, E. seri- 

 cea) ,^ those fat Spiders, magnificently 

 adorned, who lie in wait at the centre of 

 their large, vertical webs. I am not suffi- 

 ciently acquainted with her habits to describe 

 them; above all, I know nothing of her hunt- 

 ing-tactics. But her dwelling is familiar to 

 me : it is a burrow, which I have seen her 

 begin, complete and close according to the 

 customary method of the Digger-wasps. 



1 For the Garden-spiders known as the Banded Epeira 

 and the Silky Epeira cf. The Life of the Spider: chaps, 

 xi., xiii., xiv. et passim. — Translator's Note. 



ap 



