THE BURROWERS 



As time went on we found on the island two other 

 Philanthus colonies, although that is rather too large a 

 word to apply to them, since one consisted of four nests 

 and the other of only two. When we came to excavate 

 the nests of this species we were greatly astonished at 

 the length of the gallery, and not until then did we prop- 

 erly appreciate the industry of these little wasps. It is 

 no small undertaking to follow one of their tunnels for 



NEST OF PHILANTHUS PUNCTATUS 



A-B, 3j inches; B-C, 5 inches; C-D, 14 inches; 



D-E, 8 inches 



twenty-two inches, even when, as in this case, the greater 

 part of it is parallel to the surface of the ground. We 

 did not find distinct pockets, as the soil was very crumbly 

 and fell in as we worked, but we came upon clumps of 

 bees an inch or so to one side of the gallery and about 

 three inches apart, with larvae in different stages of 

 development. In one nest we found twenty-six bees in 



163 



