If the name did not sound so pleasant to the ear, I would willingly quarrel with the term Ammophila, which means ‘sand-lover,’ as being too exclusive and often erroneous. The real lovers of sand, of dry, dusty, streaming sand, are the Bembex, who prey on Flies; but the caterpillar-hunters, whose story I now propose to relate, have no predilection for ordinary shifting sand, and even avoid it as being liable to landslips on the slightest provocation. Their perpendicular shaft, which has to remain open until the cell receives the provisions and an egg, requires a firmer setting if it is not to be prematurely blocked. What they want is a light soil, easily tunnelled, in which the sandy element is cemented with a little clay and lime. Edges of paths, sunny banks where the grass is rather bare: those are the favourite spots. In spring, quite early in April, we see the Hairy Ammophila (A. hirsuta) there; when September and October come, we find the Sandy Ammophila (A. sabulosa), the Silvery Ammophila (A. argentata), and the Silky Ammophila (A. holosericea). I will here condense the information which I have gathered from the four species. In the case of all four the burrow is a vertical shaft, a sort of well, possessing at most the diameter of a thick goose-quill and a depth of about two inches. At the bottom is the cell, which is always solitary and consists of a mere widening of the entrance-shaft. It is, when all is said, a poor lodging, obtained economically, in one day’s work; the larva will find no protection there against the winter except from the four wrappers of its cocoon, copied from that of the Sphex. The Ammophila digs by herself, quietly, without hurrying, without any joyous enthusiasm. As usual, the fore-tarsi serve as rakes and the mandibles do duty as mining-tools. When some grain of sand offers too much resistance to its removal, you hear rising from the bottom of the well, as though to give voice to the insect’s efforts, a sort of shrill grating sound produced by the quivering of the wings and of the whole body. At frequent intervals the Wasp appears in the open with a load of refuse in her teeth, some bit of gravel which she flies away with and drops at a distance of a few inches, so as not to litter the place. Of the grains extracted some appear to deserve special attention, owing to their shape and size; at least, the Ammophila does not treat them as she does the rest: instead of flying off and dropping them far from the work-yard, she removes them on foot and lays them near the well. These are picked materials, ready-made blocks of stone which will serve presently for closing the dwelling.