368 CLASS vin. 



These insects are mostly coloured black with yellow spots and 

 stripes. The anterior part of the head (clypeus) is beset with fine 

 smooth hairs that often have a beautiful silvery or golden lustre. 

 They lay their eggs in holes, which they excavate with their fore- 

 feet, and place near them a provision of food (insects or spiders 

 every species appears to select by preference a definite kind), which 

 they drag either with their jaws or their hind feet. LEPELETIER 

 DE ST. FARGEAU was of opinion that certain species whose fore-feet 

 are not at all or only slightly haired, and hinder-feet without spines, 

 are unfit for digging, and that they lay their eggs in the holes of 

 other species, like the cuckoo in the class of birds. But later 

 observations oppose this ; see WESTWOOD, Introd. to Mod. Classif. n. 

 pp. 188190. 



Sp. Crabro cribrarius, Spkex cribraria L., DUMEB. Cons. gen. s. 1. Ins. PI. 31, 

 fig. 3; PANZER, Deutschl. Ins. Heft 15, Tab. 18,19 ; black ; a yellow trans- 

 verse streak forward on the thorax, as also a small double spot on the 

 middle of the thorax between the posterior wings and different transverse 

 stripes, of which the two middlemost are interrupted in the middle ; the 

 tibiae and tarsi of the same colour ; length 7 lines. The male of this, as of 

 some other species, has on the tibiae of the forefeet a disciform expansion, 

 which on copulation serves to clasp the female. This disk has been taken 

 for a sieve (from whence the specific name is borrowed), and the property 

 of sifting the pollen of plants been recognised in the insect. (ROLANDEB, 

 VentensJc. AJcad. ffandlingar, Stockholm, 1751). This strange opinion owes 

 its origin to the erroneous notion that the light transparent points seen on 

 the disc are apertures : it was refuted by DE GEEB (Mem. s. les Ins. II. 

 p. 818) and GOEZE (Natursforscker n. 1/74, s. i\ 65). 



Nysson LATR. Antennas filiform. Abdomen conico-ovate or 

 conical, broader at the base. Head moderate. The rest of the 

 characters of the preceding genus. Mandibles entire. 



Sub-genera : Pison SPINOLA, LATR., Nitela LATR., Oxybdus LATR., 

 JURINE, Nysson LATR., JURINE, Astarte LATR. (Dimorpha JURINE.) 



Sp. Oxybelus uniglumis, Crabro uniglumis PANZ., Deutschl. Ins. Heft 64, 

 Tab. 44 ; GUEBIN, Iconoyr. Ins. PL 71, fig. 2, &c. 



Larra FABR. Prothorax short, transverse, linear, not extended 

 as far as the origin of anterior wings. Feet short or moderate. 

 Labrum concealed. Mandibles at the base deeply emarginate or 

 the outer side. Abdomen conical. 



Dinetus JURINE, Miscophus JURINE, Larra FABR. (in part), LATR. 

 Lyrops ILLIG., LATR. (Liris FABR.), Palarus LATR., Dryudella SPI 

 NOLA, Gastrosericus ejusd. (Ann. de la Soc. entom. de France.*) 



