226 KANSAS UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BXJLLETIN. 



within is completed), made a short locality study, and sallied 

 forth. Within half an hour she captured another bug at a 

 distance of fourteen feet from her burrow. She had hardly 

 gone one-third the distance to the latter when a roving tiger 

 beetle (Cic. jninctulata) spied her, and, giving chase, drove 

 her off. 



On digging out the tunnel, it was found to slope steeply for 

 a short distance below the surface ; the wasp within was about 

 three inches down, seemingly employed in excavating a cell. 

 Still further down were two neat and well-separated sub- 

 spherical cells, each containing four bugs. From the ventral 

 side of the abdomen of what I believe was the only immature 

 homopteron of the lot, protruded what appeared to be one of 

 the Stylopidse; on another bug, below its lateral line and se- 

 cured just outside of one of the hind coxae, its free end pointing- 

 cephalad, was the wasp's egg. 



Being unable to rear an imago from this egg, my observa- 

 tions on the species were here ended. 



Family MlMESiD^. 

 Mimesa argentifrons Cress. 



PI. XXXIII, fig. 1, o ; fig. 3, Athysanus exitiosa. 



This is a slender red and black wasp about 10 mm. long, not 

 uncommon in Kansas. One of these insects, located in Ness 

 county early in July, had excavated her tunnel in sandy soil 

 at the very base of a large cottonwood tree. Over the nest 

 rose a cone formed of agglutinized grains of sand, quite frail 

 and crude when compared with the tubes of certain Odyneri. 

 The base of the cone was surrounded by loose ejected sand; 

 the height of the whole affair above the ground was one and 

 three-eighths inches; the width at base, two and one-fourth 

 inches. Argeritifrons stores her cells with Athysanus exitiosp- 

 \]h\,^ a small species of Jassidse, which she holds in the same 

 manner as does Harpactus gyponw, but the prey of the 

 mimesid, being small in comparison with the wasp, is always 

 borne on the wing. When obstacles were placed over the en- 

 trance to the nest, the wasp would pry them off or scratch 

 under them, never releasing her hold on the bug, however. 



The tunnel was nearly vertical, and at least eight inches 

 deep ; I was able to locate but one cell, and this contained a 

 number of bugs. 



3. Identified by Prof. E. D. Ball. 



