256 KANSAS UNn'ERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



Most of the land on which we collected, except in the river 

 bottoms, was rolling. In Trego, Russell and Rooks counties it 

 was very hilly, with many prominent stone outcrops. Along 

 the rivers in those counties were cliffs varying from 80 to 150 

 feet in height. 



Except along watercourses and around dwellings, the coun- 

 try had little timber. Even in the former situation the timber 

 was either sparse, or a narrow strip, sometimes 100 yards 

 wide, along the stream. The amount of virgin soil varied in 

 the different situations from 25 to 90 per cent. 



The season was unusually humid for that part of Kansas. It 

 rained at least once during every week but two while we were 

 in the field. 



Odynerus papagoinim Viereck. 



Edges of streams and pools and the sunny sides of high 

 cliffs are the situations in which I found wasps of this species 

 most easily. I first noticed them at a cattle crossing on a 

 creek. Coming and going continuously, each wasp, no doubt, 

 made many trips a day to that stream for its load of water. 

 Some of this activity, I later found, was centered in home- 

 building in the side of a clay bank. I also soon learned to find 

 them hunting on the heads of the sunflower and gaillardia — 

 the feeding ground of their caterpillar prey. 



I collected wasps of this species in five counties, and found 

 their nests in four of them. When in Ness county, from July 2 

 to July 9, these wasps were abundant, and the nesting season 

 seemed to be at its height. Hundreds of them were at work 

 there in the high banks of light earth. It was in that place that 

 I gave the most time to observing this species. The first 

 colonies found were near Rush Center, in the banks of Walnut 

 creek, on June 28. In Ellis county, from July 16 to 23, and in 

 Osborne county, from July 31 to August 6, I found a few old 

 nests and took a few specimens, but no nest-building was in 

 progress. A few specimens were also taken in Trego county, 

 from July 7 to 16. 



Along Walnut creek, near Ness City, in a bank rising about 

 thirty feet above the water, was the favorite nesting site of 

 0. papagoriim. The lower half of the bank was sloping talus ; 

 the upper half was practically perpendicular. In this upper 

 half the nests were excavated. Most of these were at least 

 three feet above the talus, although occasionally I found nests 



