CRABRONID^E. 157 



as a cherry. It is attached by a short stout pedicel to bushes, 

 and the cavity is filled with the larvae of small moths. 



Rapliiglossa odyneroides, from Epirus, described by S. S. 

 Saunders, makes elongated cells in galleries in briars, storing 

 them with the larvae of what he supposed to be weevils. The 

 dark brown dense tough cocoon of a Chrysis was also found in 

 the cells. 



In Masaris, which connects the Ve spar ice, with the succeed- 

 ing family, the wings are not completely folded when at rest ; 

 there are but two subcostal cells ; the maxillae are rudimen- 

 tary ; and the antennae are clavate and eight-jointed. Masaris 

 vespoides Cresson, inhabits Colorado Territory. 



CRABRONIDJS Latreille. Sand-wasps, Wood-wasps. In the 

 more typical genera the head is remarkably large, cuboidal, 

 while the clypeus is very short, and covered for the most part 

 with a dense silvery or golden pile. The antennae are genicu- 

 late, the long second joint being received, when at rest, in a 

 deep frontal vertical groove ; the mandibles are large, and of 

 even width throughout, and the mouth-parts are rather short, 

 especially the lingua, which is often, however, well developed. 

 There is only one subcostal cell, except in the Philanthince. 

 The thorax is sub-spherical, and the abdomen is either short 

 and stout, or more or less pedicellate. The forefeet are 

 adapted for digging and tunnelling, the forelegs in the females 

 being broad and flat, and in the males, which are supposed to 

 do no work, they are sometimes, as in Thyreopus, armed with 

 vexhillate expansions. 



The larva is rather short and thick, a little flattened on the 

 under side, but much rounded above ; the segments are convex 

 above, the thoracic segments differing from the abdominal seg- 

 ments in not being thickened posteriorly on each ring. They 

 spin either a very slight cocoon, or a thin dense brown oval 

 cylindrical case, generally reddish brown in color. The pupae 

 have much the same character as the imago, with prominent 

 acute tubercles above the ocelli. 



The members of this family afford, so far as we are ac- 

 quainted with their habits, most interesting examples of the 

 interdependence of structure and the habits of insects. Most 



