WILLIAMS: LARRIDiE OF KANSAS. 197 



inside for nearly an hour, perhaps making or closing a cell 

 the while. I did not see her during the next two days. She 

 probably met her death or deserted her nest, which contained 

 but three cells. The soil here was of a rather hard nature; in 

 consequence the tunnel was comparatively short. The first 

 cell was five inches below the surface and five inches to one 

 side of the entrance ; the remaining two were not far removed 

 from the first. The nest contained eight locusts (some of 

 which were becoming quite moldy) and some small distinctns 

 larvse. 



Tachytes distinctus must be ranked among the beneficial 

 insects, preying as she does upon those most destructive 

 Orthoptera which, though outnumbering these wasps very 

 greatly, are checked to a degree by the combined forces of foes. 



Tachytes fttlviveittris Cress. 



This wasp was seen to store its nest with full-grown Alpha 

 cremdat.a (Tryxalinse), a small and rather fragile insect com- 

 mon on the high and dry plains of Kansas. The nesting habits 

 were observed near the town of Meade, in the county of the 

 same name. Here on June 10, 1911, a small colony of bright, 

 fresh specimens was located. Their burrows were made in 

 the mouth of a deserted prairie-dog hole, which was situated 

 at the edge of a clearing surrounding the mound-nest of the 

 agricultural ant {Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) . 



At 10:40 A.M. I noticed one of these wasps carrying her 

 prey, venter down, beneath her, fly swiftly and directly to her 

 tunnel, which she entered head first with her burden. The 

 wasp held the base of the antennse in her mandibles and 

 clasped the locust's body with her legs. At 10:42, 10:44 

 and 10:48 A.M. other Alpha were brought in, probably by 

 more than one Tachytes. In watching these several wasps a 

 little variation in behavior was noticed. One wasp alighted 

 nepr the burrow with her load before entering; another 

 paused not at all, but flew to her nest with a high-pitched 

 buzz and rushed in directly. Again one was seen to carry her 

 burden on its side ; the bearer in this case experienced some 

 difiiculty in finding the exact location of its burrow. While 

 keeping a firm hold on the tryxalid, she flew about a small 

 area and alighted once or twice before finding her abode. 



Not being able to keep watch on this colony that afternoon, 

 nor during the next day, the spot was revisited on July 12 (a 



6-Univ. Sci. Bull., Vol. VIU. No. 4. 



