Fig. 35.—Evania Appendigaster (Mag.)
Fig. 36.—Pelecinus Politurator.
In another group, Pimplinæ, the ovipositor is generally very long. The best-known species is Rhyssa persuasoria, a blackish insect, which measures about an inch in length. This insect is met with in fir plantations, and uses its extraordinary ovipositor to drill holes in trees infested by the larvæ of Sirex gigas, on which its own larva is parasitic. The insect frequently drives its ovipositor so firmly into the wood of the tree, that it is unable to withdraw it, and perishes in this position.
Family 23, Evaniidæ.—One of the most familiar insects belonging to this family is the Evania appendigaster. It is a small black insect, found in the south of Europe, and is parasitic on cockroaches. An allied British species, Fœnus jaculator, is a not uncommon insect found haunting the burrows of Crabronidæ, upon which it is probably parasitic.
Family 24, Chrysididæ.—The Ruby-tailed Wasps, or Golden Wasps, as the Chrysididæ are popularly called, are among the most brilliant of the Hymenoptera, most of the species being either of an intense green, blue, or fiery red.
They are small or moderate-sized insects, which are found on walls or flowers in the full heat of the sun; for, as a rule, the most brilliantly-coloured insects are diurnal in their habits.
Fig. 37.—Chrysis Ignita (Mag.)