BEHAVIOR OF SPIDERS AND OTHER INSECTS 427 



Branch (10) states that Entyla sinuata, one of the Membra- 

 cidae, oviposits in a slit which the female makes in the midrib 

 of the underside of the leaf of the thistle Cnicus altissimus. 



Weiss (99) informs us that the nest of Paratenodera sinensis 

 consists of a horny core containing eggs, surrounded by a rind, 

 which undoubtedly protects the egg from moisture and frorn 

 sudden changes of temperature. By a long series of tests, he 

 proved that the eggs were not subject to sudden changes of 

 temperature. 



Williams (102) has given us the following interesting facts 

 about the behavior of certain Hymenoptera. The nest of Mimesa 

 argentifrons is a vertical funnel surmounted by a frail cone of 

 agglutinated grains of sand. Priononyx thomae Fab. deposits her 

 prey in a place of safety while she constructs her one-celled 

 burrow. Priononyx atrata St. Farg. digs its burrow with jaws 

 and forefeet. When the time comes to close the burrow, the 

 wasp fills it by backing in and throwing in dirt at the same time. 

 After using her clypeus and jaws as a packer or ram the wasp 

 smoothes over the burrow with strokes of her feet and then 

 covers it with bits of soil, sticks, etc. 



In another paper (101), he informs us that the Larridae of 

 Kansas are partial to sandy situations and that they almost 

 invariably excavate their own nests. Occasionally they build 

 in brambles; but the majority of the species mine in the ground. 

 With the exception of Miscophus, the egg is placed transversely. 



Strand (83) discusses the nest of an American Eumenid wasp 

 and its inhabitants. 



Dwight Isely (43) describes the nesting habits of six mining 

 and two mason wasps of the family Eumenidae. The mining 

 wasps belonged to the genus Odynerus. Each moistens the clay 

 in which it is going to excavate with water brought, in periodic 

 trips, from a nearby pond or stream; but, there is a marked 

 contrast between their nests. The striking thing about many 

 of these nests is the turret built around the entrance, out of a 

 portion of the materials removed from the burrow. Odynarus 

 papagorum Viereck constructs a turret which is durable under 

 all ordinary conditions. The turret of Odynerus arvensis Sauss. 

 is so frail that even a light rain destroys it. When the burrow 

 of this species has been stocked, the wasp demolishes the turret 

 and throws it, piece by piece, into the burrow. Odynarus dor- 



