632 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
black locust in the Eastern States. The adult is about 44 inch long, 
and black. The mouth parts, except the mandibles, are pale yellow, 
the mandibles are piceous, and the front tibiae and tarsi more or less 
reddish. Gahan (175) published brief notes on the insect’s biology. 
Oviposition takes place early in June, a single egg being deposited 
in the Thelia nymph. Polyembryonic development takes place, and 
from 50 to 70 larvae emerge from 1 7helia nymph by boring through 
the sternites, and then drop to the earth to pupate. 
Famity SPHECIDAE 
The Sphecidae contain many common, small to large wasps. 
Among them the Sphecinae, or thread-waisted wasps, attract par- 
ticular attention because of the peculiar shape of their bodies. Al- 
though an occasional member of the Sphecidae is an inquiline, most 
of them are solitary nest-building species that provision their nests 
with Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera Homoptera, Orthoptera, 
Diptera, Hymenoptera, or spiders. As a rule, they prepare the nest, 
accumulate a supply of food sufficient to enable the young to develop 
to maturity, lay an egg on the food, and then close the cell before the 
egg has hatched. <A “few species, however, feed the young from day 
to day until the larvae have completed development. The prey is 
stung when captured, so that it is either paralyzed or killed in such 
a manner that it remains fresh for a considerable period. Members 
of the family differ greatly in their nesting habits. Some are mason 
wasps, building cells of earth; many burrow in the ground ; and others 
burrow in the stalks of pithy plants or make use of cavities. Some of 
the thread-waisted wasps are mud daubers, making nests of mud 
attached to the lower surface of flat stones or to the ceilings or 
walls of buildings. These nests usually consist of several tubes about 
1 inch long, placed side by side and provisioned with spiders. 
Crossocerus parkeri (Banks), syn. Crabro davidsoni (Sandh.) (fig. 
194), provisions its cells with adult leafhoppers. In 1938 Davidson 
and Landis (726) found that 32 different species of leafhoppers, be- 
longing to ihe 3 genera, Zyphlocyba, Erythroneura, and Empoasca, 
were preyed upon by C. parkert in Ohio. Some of these leafhoppers 
are known to feed on forest trees. The wasps form long, winding 
galleries in dead wood. Each gallery contains many cells, and from 
4 to 46 leafhoppers, with an average of 20, are stored in each cell 
(fig. 195). Apparently the leafhoppers are rendered immobile by 
being stung before they are placed in the cells, for some individuals 
retain their original coloration and limp condition for 6*months or 
longer. An egg 1s laid in each cell and the larva feeds on the leaf- 
hoppers. The wasp cocoon (fig. 194, 2) is formed within the gallery 
and consists largely of the exoskeletons of the leafhoppers. The 
winter is passed in the cocoon, and the adults emerge in the spring. 
Sphecius speciosus (Drur y), the cicada-killer, is a large, for midable- 
appearing wasp that provisions its nests with cicadas. The adult 
females are frequently 114 inches long. They are black or rusty, 
with prominent yellow bands or spots of yellow on the abdomen. The 
wings are fuscous. These wasps are frequently seen in August, 
stinging their prey and carrying the unwieldly cicadas to their nests. 
The nest consists of a tunnel in the ground, from 6 to 8 inches deep. 
