WILLIAMS: LARRID^ OF KANSAS. 203 



Resting now and then, she proceeded by active httle jumps 

 and very quick running and went directly into her hole, bur- 

 dened as she was. She was soon seen working the soil down- 

 wards from inside, backing in and throwing in the dirt simul- 

 taneously with her long-fringed fore feet, at times vibrating 

 her whole body longitudinally and swaying it, as described later 

 in tarsatus. After working herself almost to the surface she 

 did some leveling, attacking the remainder of the soil heap and 

 directing the dirt toward the now nearly filled tunnel. At 

 short intervals she turned around and looked briefly in the 

 direction she had been throwing the dirt, as if to make sure 

 that her efforts were being applied in the right direction. 

 When she had nearly completed her work she was captured. 

 The tunnel was in good sandy soil and located in a footprint.* 

 The gallery was packed with soil down to the locust, upon 

 which the long, curved egg was placed as usual. But a short 

 time is required to dig the nest, and when she is nearly or 

 quite through with this work she emerges head first, instead of 

 backing out as is done when in the midst of her excavating. 



Propinquus is not very select in choosing her prey, for in 

 addition to Alpha crenulata as food for the grub, Ageneotettix 

 deorum, Mestobregma kiowa and what appeared to be an 

 immature Opeia were also captured. Some of these Orthop- 

 tera are giants in size in comparison with their captor; the 

 latter frequently has a strenuous time of it in subduing and 

 dragging them to her burrow. The locusts sometimes escape. 

 On one occasion a Derotmena, having been startled by one of 

 these wasps, spread out and elevated its bright red wings 

 somewhat as an open fan, the insect thus presenting an un- 

 usual if not a startling efl'ect. 



The measurements taken of four tunnels are as follows: 

 Length, 21/2, 2, 3, and 2Vi inches ; depth, 2, 1, 2, and II/2 inches. 

 Tachysphex tarsatus Say. (Fig. 117, egg.) 



Rather extended observations were made on this perse- 

 vering and industrious little insect. In a certain limited area 

 in Meade county the burrows were scattered somewhat indis- 

 criminately over the ground, and might thus be termed a loose 

 settlement of tarsatus. The weeds were rather sparse here, 

 making it easy for the observer to follow the actions of the 



* It may be -nell to state that these wasps, as well as some of the Sphecidse, seem to 

 realize that the impression made by a foot or hoof affords an easy start in digging where 

 the crust of soil is broken, and accordingly such spots are often selected. 



