MUTILLIDJ2. 
18T 
author have been tolerably similar. The male is a powerful insect with 
long legs and strong wings ; he finds the female, seizes her by the pro¬ 
thorax and flies off; on some convenient spot, he mates with her, clasp¬ 
ing her firmly to him by his forelegs and standing erect on his others; 
she is perfectly helpless and is apparently firmly held throughout. The 
first time I was privileged to see this, I was much struck as in the fre¬ 
quent intervals the male shook the female with a twisting motion as 
we should shake a bottle whose contents we desired to mix well; this 
extraordinary performance is worth seeing, but occurs, so far as 1 
know, not in all species, as in the majority I have seen the procedure 
was straightforward and not accompanied by this peculiar rite; un¬ 
fortunately I was so interested that when 1 sought to capture them 
and determine the species they escaped. 
It is impossible to discuss individual Mutillids in this place and the 
student will find full descriptions in the Fauna of India. The four 
commonest species are perhaps M. dimidiata, Lep. M. interrupta , Oliv. 
M. analis, Lep. and M. sexmaculata, Swed, but very little is known as to 
the geographical distribution in India of the majority of the species. 
All are parasitic upon Aculeate Hymenoptera, but few have been 
actually bred from their hosts. 
M. regia , Sm. (fig. 101) was found in the nest of Eumenes conica 
and was also reared from the pupa of this wasp. Gk C. Nurse also 
reared this species from the nests of Eumenes esuriens (Jo. Bom. Nat. 
Hist. Soc. XIV, p. 271). Mutilla discreta , Cam. has been reared from 
Crahro orientalis , Cam. in Pusa and M. poonaensis, Cam. from the nest 
of an Eumenes in the same place. (Plate XIII, figs. 1, 2.) 
Collecting .—Mutillids are easy to collect, the females on the ground, 
the males in a net. The females should not be handled with the bare 
fingers as the sting is distinctly painful. Every mutillid seen 4 4 in 
cop ” should be collected since this is the easiest way in which to match 
the sexes. A great deal of observation and rearing is required before 
we can estimate the importance of the group since their hosts are un¬ 
known and every opportunity of determining what their hosts are, 
should be taken. 
