| 释义 |
‖ Sphex Ent.|sfɛks|
Pl. ˈSpheges |ˈsfiːdʒiːz|.
[a. Gr. σϕήξ (pl. σϕῆκες) wasp.]
A genus of digger-wasps; a wasp of this genus.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 689/2 Sphex, Ichneumon Wasp, or Savage. 1805Bingley Zool. (ed. 3) III. 354 Many species of the Sphex are common in England;..their larvæ feed on dead insects, in the bodies of which the parent Spheges lay their eggs. 1857Gosse Omphalos 319 Immense tribes of solitary Bees, Wasps, and Spheges. 1881Darwin Veg. Mould 93 A sphex..stocks its nest with paralysed grasshoppers.
attrib.1807J. E. Smith Phys. Bot. 196 An insect of the Sphex or Ichneumon kind. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xi. (1818) I. 351 Similar laborious exertions are not confined to the bee or Sphex tribe. 1897Contemp. Rev. June 869 A sphex-wasp stings into helplessness the caterpillars it has selected.
Hence ˈsphexide, a wasp belonging or related to the genus Sphex.
1828Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 230 In the Hymenoptera, such as wasps, bees, sphexides, &c. the extremity of the abdomen incloses a sting, calculated for attack or defence. |