THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 203 CLASSIFICATION OF THE FOSSORIAL, PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC WASPS, OR THE SUPERFAMILY VESPOIDEA. BY WILLIAM H. ASHMEAD, A. M , ASSISTANT CURATOR. DIVISION OF INSECTS, U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. (Paper No. 7. — Continued from p. 166.) Family XXIX. — Eumenidae. To this family belong the potter wasps. They differ from the paper-making wasps in being solitary and in constructing their nests of mud or clay, instead of macerated woody fibre or pulp. It is perhaps one of the largest, if not the largest, families in the Vespoidea, and is well repre-sented in all parts of the world by many genera and species. The species superficially resemble the Vespidae, but are quite distinct and are easily distinguished by the cleft or toothed claws, the claws never being simple or edentate as in the social wasps. The family, like the Vespidae, has reached its greatest development in warm or tropical countries. Our knowledge of this family, as well as of the Vespidce and M~asarida, is due mainly to the labors of the distinguished Swiss entomologist, Henry de Saussure, who has for more than half a century devoted most of his time to elucidating the groups, genera and species. He has done more work on these families than any other man, living or dead, and all of his papers should be in the hands of those who contemplate studying these wasps. His greatest work, " Etudes sur les Vespides," in 3 Vols., 8 vo., with plates, was published during the years 1852 to 1856, and treats of the Eumenidcz, Vespidce and Masaridce. These " Etudes " are typical of the best kind of systematic work, and should afford a model for us all to strive to imitate. All wasps belonging to the family Eumenidce are predaceous princi-pally upon Lepidopterous larvae, but a few attack also the larvae of saw-flies belonging to the superfamily Tenthredinoidea. Although most of these wasps prey upon Lepidopterous larvae as do the social wasps, yet in their habits they are quite different. The social wasps chew up or macerate their food before feeding to their young, which they carefully
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