54 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society. [Vol. 9, Nos. 1-2. 



During the whole day up to 4 p. m., the queen remained on the 

 nest, seemingly very solicitous about her young, as inferred from her 

 actions. At 4:30 p. m., she was observed making a careful examination 

 of the fastening and the petiole of the nest, gently biting with her 

 mandibles the petiole from all sides, as well as sensing it with the 

 antenna? and apparently adding some saliva to it as a kind of 

 varnish, though this could not be ascertained with certainty. Her 

 actions, during this examination, indicated anxiety. The sun appear- 

 ing at 5 :30 p. m., she made the onty trip abroad, not having returned 

 ii]) to 6 p. m. Day cloudy, cool, threatening; slight shower at 8:30 

 a. m. and a hard one between 11 a. m. and 12 :20 p. m., then fair, 

 clearing at 5 p. m: 



June 1: — Up to 6:30 a. m., the female remained at rest on top of 

 the nest; at 6:50 a. m., she became active and made a careful exami- 

 nation of the whole nest for ten consecutive minutes, then returning 

 to her former station on top. At 7:55 a. m., she made her first trip 

 abroad, the earliest trip so far recorded. She returned at 8 :57 a. m., 

 being away slightly over an hour ; so far as could be told she brought 

 nothing to the nest; the trip may have been for nectar upon which 

 she fed. Immediately after her return she visited each cell again 

 and then went abroad at 9:02 a. m. A careful examination of the 

 nest just after she departed failed to reveal that anything had been 

 added to the cells. She returned from this second trip at 9:51 a. m. 

 She then examined all of the cells over and over again until 10-10 

 a. m., or for about nineteen minutes, when she retired to the top of 

 the nest and began to examine that portion of it, including the petiole 

 and fastening, continuing for three minutes. During the entire day 

 she continued her visits from cell to cell. Day clear and warmer. 



June 2: — For the first time today the queen left the nest at S 

 a. m. Four of the eggs are now hatched ; by 10 a. m.. besides feeding 

 the larvae, the female had lengthened one of the central cells contain- 

 ing a larva, it being 1.25 mm. longer. Eaining early c. m. ; then 

 cloudy and sultry. 



June 3: — The female was observed to return to the nest at 10:35 

 a. m., holding in her fore legs a morsel of what appeared to be the 

 flesh of some lepidopterous or other larva. Clinging downward from 

 the nest by her other pairs of feet, she continued to reduce this morsel 

 to a homogeneous and well kneaded mass by revolving it about with 

 her fore feet and chewing and biting it with her mandibles. This con- 



