396 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Nov., '13 



disturbed, but whether from ignorance or wise tolerance we 

 do not know. 



This cell also was opened to see if an egg had been de- 

 posited; it was discovered just as the mother wasp was com- 

 ing with a load of mud. She was not observed that evening, 

 but the next morning I expected to find the damaged cell re- 

 paired, but instead I found a new cell one-third completed, 

 and no attention had been paid to the broken cell. 



A Sleepy Eumenid. 



A mud dauber's nest having several open cells, gave forth 

 two wasps of the family Eumenidae* between 2 and 5 P. M. 

 on May 31. Both of them occasionally took sweetened water 

 from a wet cloth. At night, each crept into an empty cell 

 of the nest, probably the one from which it had emerged. Up 

 to 10 o'clock the next morning neither came out; a half hour 

 later one was busily flying about the cage, and at 1 1 the other 

 was doing the same. The remainder of the day they spent 

 thus, and at 5 o'clock one of them retired into one of the two 

 cells already mentioned, with its legs slightly protruding. Un- 

 fortunately, at 6.30 P. M. the second wasp escaped through an 

 open window when the cage was lifted. 



The interesting behavior of the remaining wasp was ob- 

 served from day to day until its death on June 10. On June 

 2 it remained in the cell until noon, then came out and flew 

 about until 2 P. M. and crept back into the nest again, always 

 occupying the same cell. After three more days of this con- 

 duct, while the insect was out of the cell I placed a large drop 

 of red jelly at the entrance. This must have confused the 

 wasp, for it remained out all night, and the next day and night 

 as well, and it was not until 4 P. M. of the third day that it 

 retired into another empty cell (No. 2) at the far end of the 

 nest. While I was examining the nest immediately after this, 

 the wasp reappeared; at 4.30 the cage was made completely 

 dark by placing a large box over it ; when this was removed 

 after twenty-five minutes the insect had retired into an untried 



* Identified by Mr. S. A. Rohwer, through the kindness of Dr. L. O. 

 Howard, as Ancistrocerus unifasciatus Sauss. 



