476 



INSECTS ABROAD. 



Mr. Westwood has successfully watched the development of 

 several species of Crabro, and lias noticed that while burrowing 

 in wood the insect bites off small splinters with its teeth, passes 

 them under its body by the first and second pairs of legs, and then 

 kicks them out of the burrow with the hind pair. The strong 



spines with which the tibiae 

 of the hind legs are armed 

 assist the insect in propelling 

 the fragments well out of the 

 burrow. The burrow is stocked 

 with insects, varying accord- 

 ing to the species of Crabro, 

 and when the larva is full fed 

 it spins for itself a silken 

 cocoon of a reddish brown 

 colour. As the silken threads 

 of which the cocoon is formed 

 are of a viscid nature when 

 first spun, the wings and 

 other debris of the flies on 

 which the larva had fed are sure to adhere to the exterior and 

 so give the cocoon a very singular aspect. 



The species which is given as our example of this genus is an 

 inhabitant of Southern Europe, and is rather prettily coloured, 

 the general hue being black, and the abdomen marked with 

 interrupted bands of greenish yellow, arranged as shown in the 

 illustration. 



Fig. 255.— Crabro subtercaneus. 



(Black ami yellow. ) 



On Plate VIII. Fig. 1 is shown a pretty insect of Northern 

 India, called Trypoxylon rejector. 



The generic name is formed from two Greek words, and 

 signifies " a wood-borer." As may be inferred from that name 

 the generality of the insects belonging to this genus bore holes 

 in wood. Several species of Trypoxylon inhabit England, and 

 have been noticed to enter the burrows of other insects. Mr. 

 Westwood, having seen this done several times, naturally thought 

 that the insect was a parasitic one. Afterwards, however, he 

 found that the only object was to save itself trouble, and that 

 the Trypoxylon merely enlarged the burrows and then lined them 

 with sand. One species makes a number of successive cells 



