THE SPHEGES. 2Q1 



Turner savage Sand-wasp. 



THE SPHEGES. 



THESE insects are chiefly found in woods 

 and hedges ; their larvae feed on dead insects, in 

 the bodies of which the parent spheges deposit 

 their eggs. r%; 



The antennae in this tribe consist of ten joints 

 or articulations; and the mouth is armed with 

 jaws. The wings in both sexes are extended, 

 and do not fold together. The sting is pungent, 

 and concealed within the abdomen. 



The turner savage, one of these species, lives 

 in the haunts of men, whom it never willingly 

 offends: but it is the terror of all the smaller in- 

 sects. It inhabits holes in the earth on the sides 

 of hills and cliffs, and recesses that it forms for 

 itself in the mud-walls of cottages and out- 

 houses. The eggs, as in all the other species, 

 are deposited by the female in the back part of 

 the cells. These are stored with insects, for tood 

 to the larvae, as soon as they come into life, and 

 then filled up. 



The antennae of the common sand-wasp, a 

 kind of sphex, have thirteen articulations, and 

 are inserted in a hollow on the front of the head. 

 The abdomen is club-shaped, and joined to the 

 thorax by a long two-jointed pedicle.. The wings 

 are equal, and the colours of the body black and 

 ferruginous alternately. 



It is very common about the sandy banks ex- 

 2 o 2 



