﻿92 HYMENOPTERA 



It should be noted that in the solitary as in the social Insects 

 the males take no part whatever in these industrial occupations, 

 and apparently are even unaware of them. It is remarkable 

 that, notwithstanding this, the sexual differences are in the 

 majority less than is usual in Insects. It is true that the various 

 forms of Scoliidae exhibit sexual distinctions which, in the case 

 of Thynnides and Mutillides are carried to an extreme degree, 

 but these are precisely the forms in which skill and ingenuity are 

 comparatively absent, the habits being rather of the parasitic 

 than of the industrial kind, while the structure is what is 

 usually called degraded (i.e. wingless). The great difference 

 between the habits of the sexes, coupled with the fact that there 

 is little or no difference in their appearance, has given rise to a 

 curious Chinese tradition with regard to these Insects, dating 

 back to Confucius at least. 1 The habit of stinging and storing 

 caterpillars in a cell, from which a fly similar to itself afterwards 

 proceeds having been noticed, it was supposed to be the male that 

 performed these operations ; and that when burying the cater- 

 pillars he addressed to them a spell, the burden of which is 

 "mimic me." In obedience the caterpillars produce the wasp, 

 which is called to this day " Jiga," that is in English " mimic 

 me." The idea was probably to the effect that the supposititious 

 male, not being able to produce eggs, used charmed caterpillars 

 to continue the species. 



Summary of the Prey of Fossores. 



Group of Fossores. Food or < lecurrence. 



Fam. Scoliidae. 



Sub-Fam. Mutillides . . As parasites on Hymenoptera Aculeata. 

 ,, Thynnides . . (?) Parasites on Lepidopterous pupae. 

 ., Scoliides . . . Larvae of Coleoptera [(?) spiders in the case of 



Elis 4,-notata]. 

 „ Rhopalosomides. Unknown. 



„ Sapygides . . The provisions stored by bees. Caterpillars 



(teste Smith). 



y p .,.■■ (Spiders. Rarely Orthoptera (Gryllidae and 



" { Blattidae, teste Bingham) or Coleoptera. 



/ Orthoptera (especially Locustidae), larvae 



Fam. Sphegidae. J of Lepidoptera, Spiders [(?) same species 



Sub-Fam. Sphegides . . » (Sceliphron madraspatanum and Sphex 



\ coeruleus), both spiders and caterpillars]. 



1 Kurnagusu Minakata, in Nature, 1. 1894, p. 30. 



