53 
but this segment has large, well- separated punctures, that of the 
others much finer. W hile there is some dark pubescence on 
thorax, the whole upper portion of the insect is covered with 
rather coarse, suberect to erect bristly black pile arising from the 
large punctures on the head and thorax, and the smaller shallow 
ones on abdomen; this pile is rather conspicuous along the base 
of the abdominal strips and is paler on underside of body. 
Described from 1 @ from the lower portion of the Makiling 
forest, Los Banos, taken in the summer of 1917. 
This stout, much banded insect might perhaps form a subgenus 
of Odynerus; it bears some resemblance to the subgenus Rhyg- 
chium. 
The rounded transverse ridge on the first tergite and the much 
developed hind margins of tergites 3 and 4, mark this wasp as a 
peculiar one. 
LIFE HISTORY STUDIES. 
SCOLIIDAE. 
This family comprises a large number of digging wasps of 
rather depressed and compact form that prey almost wholly on 
the larvae of lamellicorn beetles.; They have a very general dis- 
tribution and in the tropics particularly, are represented by many 
species of formidable size. They are not highly specialized wasps 
and form no nests; yet their olfactory—or more probably, their 
auditory powers—must be highly dev eloped since female Scoliidae 
are able to locate their prey well buried in the soil, decayed wood, 
etc. Each species is more or less restricted to a certain species of 
lamellicorn grub, so that we may regard the diversity and abund- 
ance of the latter in a given region as an index to the scolid 
fauna of that place. 
The adults are often found at flowers; the female wasp how- 
ever usually spends the afternoon hours seeking her prey, and 
both sexes of many species pass the night underground. In cer- 
tain cases the males, as in the American Elis, sleep congregated 
on weeds, Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba) being a special favorite. 
The beetle grub may be stung to permanent paralysis, as in 
Scolia sp., or it may be only temporarily immobilized in the case 
of Tiphia. Scolia fastens her egg delicately so that the head end 
is cemented against the venter ‘of. the helpless grub, whereas 
Tiphia, as if mindful of the eventual activity of her now quieted 
victim, affixes her egg much more securely—but not always so 

+ According to Burkill (1917), Scolia erratica Sm. in the Straits Settlements, 
ete., attacks the grubs of the Red Coconut Weevil (Rhyncophorus ferrugineus) as 
well as those of a Rhinoceros Beetle (Oryctes). 
