WASPS, SOCIAL AND SOLITARY 



nuptial flight, after which the wings are lost. How then 

 are they captured ? Can it be that the wasps, though not 

 much larger than their prey, descend into the home of 

 the ants, bearding the lions in their den, and carrying 

 off their young queens by force of arms ? This smacks 

 of heroism. 



Much interested in the matter, we carefully examined 

 the ant-hills of the neighborhood. Those on top of the 

 hill had openings too small to admit frigidus, supposing 

 she had wanted to enter, but down on the roadside below 

 we found some larger doorways and sat down beside 

 them. We had scarcely arrived when a frigidus appeared 

 on the scene, alighting six feet away. That she should 

 have come hunting so soon seemed almost too good to 

 be true, but she certainly was not doing anything else. 

 She did not dig, nor feed on the clover, nor circle about 

 as though looking for her nest, but began to clean and 

 brush herself assiduously. Then she climbed a tall grass 

 blade, and swinging at the top went through some curi- 

 ous gymnastic performances. Then she brushed herself 

 again, drawing her third legs over the sides of her abdo- 

 men. This went on from moment to moment, until half 

 an hour had passed, and more than once the painful 

 suspicion crossed our minds that this was some trifling 

 male putting in the hours between breakfast and 



174 



