D
Ammophila Julii.—H. Fab.
Length, 16 to 22 millimetres.[4] Abdominal petiole consisting of the first segment and half [[385]]the second. Third cubital narrowed towards the radial. Head, black, with silvery down on the face. Antennæ, black. Thorax, black, with transverse stripes on its three segments, darker on the prothorax and the mesothorax. Two patches on the sides and one behind either side of the metathorax, covered with silvery down. Abdomen, bare and shiny. First segment, black. Second segment, red in the part narrowed into a petiole and in the widened part. Third segment, all red. The others, a beautiful, metallic indigo-blue. Legs, black, with silvery down on the hips. Wings, slightly reddish. Builds her nest in October and stocks each cell with two medium-sized caterpillars.
Is nearly related to Ammophila holosericea, being of the same size, but differs markedly in the colour of her legs, which are all black, in her head and thorax, which are much less hairy, and in the transverse stripes on the three segments of the thorax.
I wish these three Wasps to bear the name of my son Jules, to whom I dedicate them.
Dear Jules, snatched at such an early age from your passionate love of flowers and insects, you were my fellow-worker; nothing escaped your clear-sighted glance; I was to write this book for you, to whom its stories gave such [[386]]delight; and you yourself were to continue it one day. Alas, you went to a happier home, knowing nothing of the book but its first lines! May your name at least figure in it, borne by some of those industrious and beautiful Wasps whom you loved so well!
J. H. F.
Orange, 3 April 1879. [[387]]
[1] ⅝ to ¾ inch.—Translator’s Note. [↑]
[2] ¼ to ⅓ inch.—Translator’s Note. [↑]
[3] ¾ to ⅞ inch.—Translator’s Note. [↑]
[4] ·62 to ·86 inch.—Translator’s Note. [↑]