Plate XXXIX. fig. 4.
ORDER: Hymenoptera. SECTION: Fossores. FAMILY: Pompilidæ.
GENUS. PEPSIS, _Fabr. Latr._ Sphex, _Linn. Drury_.
PEPSIS COERULEANA. Nigra, alis coerulescenti-nitidis, pedibus aurantiis.
(Long. Corp. lin. 12.)
SYN. Sphex coeruleana, _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.
{84}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._