ARTICULATA. “173 
generally ornamented with yellow spots. The common species of the 
United States, S. speciosus, Drury, kills and carries off Cicada (pl. 80, jig. 
75) pruinosa, a large locust much larger than itself, the locust, during the 
attack (if a male), making a great noise with its sounding organs. 
Fam. 12. Sphegide (pl. 79, figs. 27, 28, 30, 31). Here the body is 
elongated, the abdomen is attached by a long slender peduncle, and is 
armed with a sting. The mandibles are slender and curved, and the feet 
long, and generally fossorial. These insects are very active and restless, 
running about dry places, or along water courses, keeping their wings in a 
state of vibration. They suck the fluids of flowers, but the larve are pro- 
vided with animal food by the adult. Ammophila sabulosa (fig. 81), which 
seems to inhabit the United States as well as Europe, digs a hole in sandy 
places, and stores it with spiders for the young. Pelopeus (fig. 30). P. 
jlavipes, the mud-wasp of the United States, may be seen forming small balls 
of mud along water courses, especially where cattle are watered, as there is 
no grass present, and the earth and water meet gradually and nearly on the 
same level, so that the ground is generally made wet a few inches from the 
margin by the capillary attraction and the small ripples. When the ball of 
mud (which is about an eighth of an inch in size) is ready, the wasp takes 
it to its nest, which may be in a garret, or under the eaves of a house. 
Here the nest is formed, a cell at a time, each after the first one being 
attached parallel with the preceding ones, and generally (perhaps always) in 
a horizontal direction, or nearly so. Sometimes a space of three inches in 
length will be covered by allowing successive cells to be attached side by 
side, but in other cases not more than three will be attached (perhaps to the 
lower side of a rafter), and the succeeding ones will be attached or sus- 
pended to these until the mass assumes the form of an elongated sub-quadrate 
prism attached by one end. In rare cases the nest is built upon the upper 
surface of arafter. The cells are filled with spiders for the larve, and then 
closed with mud. The pupa is inclosed in a translucent yellow cocoon 
resembling very thin oiled paper. Westwood Untroduction, ii. 207), judging 
from observations made by W. W. Saunders, thinks that these construc- 
tions are made by Lumenes ; but if the latter is concerned, z¢ is probably 
the parasite, or the Pelopwus may take a cell already formed in preference 
to building one. The United States species of Humenes are not known to 
enter houses, where Pelopeus is constantly seen, although they may both 
be found in the same vicinity out of doors. 
Some authors separate Pompilus ( jigs. 27, 28), and some allied genera, 
to form a separate family. 
Fram. 13. Scoliide. Some authors divide this family into two portions 
(considered sub-families by Westwood) of which Scolia and Sapyga are 
the types. In the former the antenne are short and curled, and the feet 
thick and spinose; whilst in the latter the antenne are straight and long, 
and the feet thin. The first contains some large species. The European ~ 
S. flavifrons deposits its eggs in cavities in the earth occupied by the larva 
of the large Coleopter, Oryctes nasicornis (pl. 81, jig. 145), upon which 
it lives. 
377 
