PEPSIS CŒRULEANA.
Plate [XXXIX]. fig. 4.
Order: Hymenoptera. Section: Fossores. Family: Pompilidæ.
Genus. Pepsis, Fabr. Latr. Sphex, Linn. Drury.
Pepsis Cœruleana. Nigra, alis cœrulescenti-nitidis, pedibus aurantiis. (Long. Corp. lin. 12.)
Syn. Sphex cœruleana, Drury, App. vol. 2.
Habitat: Bight of Benin, Coast of Africa.
Head, antennæ, and eyes black. Ocelli distinct. It is tongueless, with four palpi. Jaws strong. Wings fine deep mazarine blue, not folded, but lying flat. Thorax and abdomen black. Legs orange-coloured; the fore ones being furnished with a single tibial spur, the rest having two that are rather long.
This insect, according to Mr. Smeathman, makes a clicking noise when it flies, like a rocket, which may be heard at twenty yards distance. It is a very strong and rapacious insect, and is often seen flying from bush to bush with a grasshopper in its claws at least twice its own size, and which is evidently destined to be deposited in its nest, and to become the food of the future progeny of the Pepsis.
"There is a species like this found in the West Indies, with orange antennæ and black legs; also another that is entirely black."—Drury.