876 NATURAL HISTORY. 



kneed ; the eyes are not notched within ; and the legs are long, with spinose tibife, which have long 

 spines at the apex. There is no striking difference between the two sexes. There are some 700 or 

 800 known species, and they occur in all parts of the world, the range of the typical genus 

 (Pompilus) extending from Lapland to the Cape of Good Hope, and from China to Chili. Many 

 tropical species are of large size and great beauty, soms of them being adorned with bands of silvery 

 pile, and having the wings richly coloured. 



Most of the species of Pompilus burrow in sand, or sandy soil, and store their nests with 

 Spiders and the larvse of insects generally the former with which they wage constant war, and it 

 would appear that as a rule the females of each species show a decided preference for certain kinds of 

 victims in storing their nests. Their behaviour with large spiders shows great boldness. They 

 attack their intended prey vigorously and continuously until, apparently in despair, the Spider throws 

 himself upon his back, when he contrives to repel the assaults of his enemy for a time by the action 

 of his legs ; but on his becoming exhausted the Wasp dashes in upon him, seizes him with her jaws 

 beneath the breast, and speedily paralyses him by two or three stings in the abdomen. The Wasp 

 then, after inspecting her victim on all sides, to make sure of its being in a helpless condition, seizes it 

 by the fore part of the body, and drags it away to her nest. Smaller Spiders and Caterpillars 

 naturally give less trouble. 



One of our commonest species, the Pompilus Juscus, is usually about half an inch long, and is 

 black, with the first three segments of the abdomen red, and banded with black. The wings are 

 brownish, with the tips black. This insect makes its appearance in the spring, and may be observed 

 in sandy places throughout the summer. It burrows in the sand to a depth of three or four inches, 

 digging out the sand with its fore legs after the fashion of a terrier dog. It is said to provision its 

 nest with various supplies, but prefers Spiders. Some species, which have the anterior tarsi destitute 

 of the fringes of bristles, construct cells of mud very similar to those of Pelopmus. The British 

 Pompilus punctum, a small black species, is one of these. 



The species of Ceropales, which also have no fringes on the tarsi, and the legs almost destitute of 

 spines, are further remarkable for having the posterior legs unusually long, and are believed to act 

 the Cuckoo part depositing their eggs in the nests of other Pompilidse. Although not numerous in 

 species, the genus is very widely dispersed over the face of the earth. Two species occur in Britain. 



Pepsis is a peculiarly American genus, its species being almost entirely confined to South America. 

 Most of them are of large size and great beauty. Pepsis heros, a species found in Cuba, attains a 

 length of two inches, and is of a deep black, with a dark blue lustre on the head, abdomen, and legs ; 

 whilst the wings are reddish, with a metallic tinge and a dark brown margin. 



FAMILY SAPYGID^E. 



This is a small family, containing only a single genus, with very few species. Like the Pompilidffl 

 the insects referred to it have the prothorax produced to the base of the wings on each side, a 

 character which also occurs in the next family ; but the legs are destitute of spines, the hind legs do 

 not extend beyond the tip of the abdomen ; the antennfe are long, and usually more or less clubbed ; 

 the eyes are notched on the inner margin ; and the sexes are alike in form, both being winged. The 

 species of Sapyga occur in Europe and North America. They are supposed to be parasitic in the nests 

 of Bees, and the females are found in the neighbourhood of the burrows of the latter ; but the 

 females of the common European and British species (Sapijga pacca, or punctata) have been observed 

 carrying small Caterpillars, from which Mr. Smith, with justice, infers that they are parasitic only to 

 the extent of usurping the burrows made in sandbanks and dead wood by more industrious insects, 

 their own structure not adapting them for the labour of digging. The species above mentioned , 

 which varies between one-third of an inch and half an inch in length, is black, with the abdomen partly 

 red in the female, and both sexes have transverse white spots on some of the abdominal segments. 

 This species haunts the nests of species of Osmia. The largest species of the group (Sapyga repandti) 

 is similarly attached to the great Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa}. 



FAMILY MUTILLID^E. 



In this family, which completes the series of so-called Fossorial Hymenoptera, we still find the 

 prothorax extending at the sides to the base of the fore wings when these are present ; but the males 



