SPAT ALL A SPHEGID^E. 



the body compressed, and deep in the vertical section ; 

 only one dorsal fin ; the teeth not large, but very 

 numerous, of a conical form, and placed in several 

 rows, the external ones larger and more curved than 

 the others ; the gape not very wide ; and the gill-rays 

 six in number. 



The species of this genus are not numerous, even 

 in the Mediterranean, which appears to be the head- 

 quarters of the family of the Sparidce ; and there is 

 only one known as a Biitish fish, to which our notice 

 must be restricted. This one is 



The Black Bream (C. grueus}. This fish cannot 

 be said to be rare, and yet it is not a very common 

 one, even upon the coasts of the Channel, where 

 spinoas fishes are much more abundant than on any 

 other part of the coast. The end of summer is 

 the time when they are most plentiful, and then they 

 are very bold, and resort close to the shores. They 

 are very voracious fishes, biting readily at any kind 

 of bait. They are not of very large size, a foot and 

 a half being about the average. The general colour 

 of the body is bluish-grey, with longitudinal stripes 

 of light and dark, and the scales relieved at the 

 edges with lighter colour than the* central parts. 

 The dorsal fin is brown, and all the other fins are 

 of the same colour as the body, only darker in 

 tint. This species is not uncommon in many parts 

 of the Atlantic, but it does not, we believe, occur in 

 the high latitudes. 



There are a few more members of the family, 

 which differ from the last mentioned by having the 

 teeth more or less trenchant, the body of an oval 

 form, and much compressed, and the colours bright, 

 generally with golden coloured stripes upon a silvery 

 or bluish-brown ground, with metallic lustre. 



SPATALLA(Dr. R. Brown). A genus of ever- 

 green shrubs, natives of South Africa. The flowers 

 are tetrandrous, and the genus is included among the 

 Proteacca;, of the general character of which the dif- 

 ferent species largely partake, requiring exactly the 

 same treatment. 



SPERCHEUS (Fabricius). A curious genus of 

 coleopterous insects, placed in the family Hydrophi- 

 lidcE, having the body short, oval-hemispheric, and 

 very gibbose ; the antennae only six-jointed ; the 

 mandibles bedentate, and the legs formed for walk- 

 ing. There are but very few species, the type Sp. 

 emarginatus, Latreille, found, but very rarely, in damp 

 situations at the sides of water. 



SPERGULA (Linnaeus). A genus of annual and 

 perennial herbs, mostly natives of Europe. It belongs 

 to the twelfth class of Linnaeus, and to the natural 

 order Caryophylece. They are mostly weeds, though, 

 under the name of sjwrry, one of the species is cul- 

 tivated for sheep food. 



Sl'ERMACOCE (Linnaeus). A genus of herbs, 

 chiefly annuals, for the most part natives of the 

 tropics. They belong to tetrandia monogynia, and 

 to the natural order Rubiacece. The English name 

 is button-weed. Some of the species are met with 

 in our stoves, where they are easv of management. 



SPHACELE (Bentham). A" pretty plant from 

 Chili, belonging to Labiatce, and which succeeds well 

 under the ordinary greenhouse management. 



SPH^ERIDII'D^: (Leach). A family of minute 

 coleopterous insects belonging to the section Pen- 

 tamera, and related to the HydrophiUdce, and dung- 

 feeding Lamellicornes, having the body short, rounded, 

 and convex ; the prosternum pointed behind, the 



703 



tibiae spined, the antenna eight or nine-jointed, 

 and the maxillary palpi a little shorter than the an- 

 tennae. These insects are of small size and very fre- 

 quent occurrence, residing in the midst of the excre- 

 ment of cattle and horses, round which they may be 

 observed hovering almost as soon as it is fallen. Some 

 of the species reside at the edges of water. There 

 are tsvo genera ; Sphcc ridium, Fabricius (anterior tarsi 

 dilated in the males), of which the Dermesles scara- 

 bceoides of Linna'us is the type, and which is a very 

 common insect of a shining black colour, with a blood 

 red spot at the base of the elytra, and the extremity 

 pale reddish. The other genus is Cercyon, Leach, 

 having the anterior male tarsi simple. The species 

 are very numerous and minute. 



SPH^EROLOBIUM (Smith). A genus of ever- 

 green shrubs, natives of New Holland, and belonging 

 to Leguminosce. They are greenhouse plants, and 

 are increased by cuttings. 



SPHEGID^; (Leach). A family of hymenopte- 

 rous insects belonging to the section Aculeaia, and 

 subsection Fossores, having the collar narrowed in 

 front so as to appear like a joint, and the basal 

 joint of the abdomen, and sometimes part of the 

 second, narrowed into a long and slender footstalk or 

 peduncle of considerable length ; the anterior wings 

 have always three complete submarginal cells, and 

 the commencement of a fourth. The habits of these 

 insects are similar to those of other fossorial families. 

 (See the articles FOSSORES and HVMENOPTERA.) 

 They are exceedingly active, their stings are very 

 powerful, and they are altogether the most inte- 

 resting, as well as curiously constructed of the fos- 

 sorial tribes. The genera are Ammophila, Miscus, 

 Sphcx, Pronaeus, Chlorion, Dolichurus, AmpuL-x, 

 Podium, and PELOP^EUS (which see); those printed 

 in italics containing British species. 



The genus,Ammt>j>/iila of Kirby is distinguished by 

 the elongated form of the lower jaw and lip, forming 

 a long kind of tongue elbowed about the middle ; 

 the mandibles are toothed, and the palpi filiform and 

 of nearly equal length ; the second submarginal cell 

 receives two recurrent nerves ; the abdominal pe- 

 duncle in some of the species is very long. There 

 are several British species (some of which appear to 

 be doubtful as regards their rank as species). They 

 are of large size, and generally of black colours, with 

 the abdomen more or less red. The type is the 

 Sphex sabulosa of Linnaeus, a very abundant species, 

 varying from two-thirds of an inch to an inch in 

 length. Another equally common species is the Amm. 

 lrin>nta, of the economy of which the following details 

 have been published in the new part of the Trans- 

 actions of the Entomological Society. The writer 

 having disturbed one of the females whilst engaged 

 in forming her nest, " she quitted it and proceeded 

 to commence a fresh one close to the former ; when 

 she had proceeded about the depth of her head, I 

 observed that her jaws constituted her chief tools ; 

 with these she brought up particles of sand and bits 

 of stone, creeping backwards to the mouth of the 

 cell ; when a little mound of sand had been accu- 

 mulated, she set about brushing it farther from the 

 orifice by means of her fore legs, and it was droll to 

 see the celerity with which these limbs were moved, 

 and the shortness of the time required to remove the 

 sand which was thrown with force beyond the body 

 of the insect, the head of which was kept near to the 

 opening of the burrow. In this manner she proceeded 



