POISON-FANG AND STILETTO 175 



straining and pulling in much the same way as 

 a horse that is harnessed to a heavy load. 



An even more remarkable victim is chosen 

 by another member of the Sphegidae family 

 (Chlorion compressum), inhabiting some of the 

 islands in the Indian Ocean. This beautiful 

 little Hymenoptera preys upon the cockroaches 

 that infest the islands, and is often seen hunting 

 up and down the roads and gardens in search of 

 these unwieldly and offensive creatures. 



Another genus of sand Wasps, the Ammophila, 

 invariably stores its nest with caterpillars, which 

 it paralyzes in the usual way with its poisoned 

 dart. Ammophila sabulosa, the British Sand 

 Wasp, fairly common in England as well as on 

 the Continent, is a striking-looking insect nearly 

 an inch long, with a red band round the 

 abdomen. It is very slender, and its abdomen 

 is attached to the thorax by a thread-like petiole. 

 The Ammophila digs a vertical shaft in light, 

 sandy soil, about two inches long, the bottom of 

 which she enlarges to form a single cell. Should 

 her excavation be interrupted by bad weather, 

 the Ammophila closes, the entrance to her bur- 

 row with a small flat stone, and waits to 

 continue her labours until the sun shines again. 

 When the burrow is finished, the Ammophila 

 always closes it with the little stone while she 

 is away on a hunting excursion, but when 

 sufficient provisions have been stored, and an 

 egg laid, the entrance is finally sealed in the 

 usual way, with the loose earth and sand that 

 the insect has thrown out in making her nest. 



Every species of these " solitary wasps " has 



