Chapter xiii 



THE AMMOPHIL.E 



A SLENDER waist, a slim shape ; an abdomen 

 tapering very much at the upper part and 

 fastened to the body as though by a thread ; 

 black raiment with a red sash across the belly : 

 there you have a summary description of these 

 burrowers, who are akin to the Sphex in form 

 and colouring, but differ greatly from them in 

 habits. The Sphex hunt Orthoptera — Locusts, 

 Grasshoppers, Crickets — while caterpillars are 

 the quarry of the Ammophilse. This change 

 of prey in itself suggests new methods in the 

 lethal tactics of instinct. 



If the name did not sound so pleasant to the 

 ear, I would willingly quarrel with the term 

 Ammophila, which means * sand-lover,' as being 

 too exclusive and often erroneous. The real 

 lovers of sand, of dry, dusty, streaming sand, 

 are the Bembex, who prey on Flies ; but the 

 caterpillar-hunters, whose story I now propose 

 to relate, have no predilection for ordinary 

 shifting sand, and even avoid it as being liable to 



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