22 THE FOSSORS OR DIGGERS 



vary exceedingly in size, shape and colour. 

 Our largest species are about an inch long and 

 our smallest about the eighth of an inch, nearly all 

 having the body where it joins the thorax con- 

 stricted into a very narrow waist ; this is some- 

 times of considerable length. In one genus known 

 to entomologists by the name Ammophila (fig. 2) or 



FIG. 2. 



" lover of the sand ", the waist is practically the 

 longest part of the body, so that looking at one 

 sideways as it flies along, one could almost be 

 deceived into thinking that there were two 

 insects, one following the other (cf. pi. A, fig. 7). 

 In colour, there seem to be three dominant 

 schemes : Black (cf. pi. B, fig. 17) ; black with a 

 red band across the body (cf. pi. A, fig. 7) ; and 

 black banded with yellow, like a wasp (cf. pi. A, 

 figs. 6 and 8, etc.) In some the yellow bands may 

 not be complete, and appear only as spots on each 

 side of the body segments, or the red band may 

 be almost obliterated, or the black species may 



