210 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



in the construction, and when occasion required, above the open- 

 ing of the tube, and with the aid of her mouth and legs, she 

 worked this soft, plastic material into a thin, lengthened-out 

 strip. This little roll of clay was firmly pressed against the 

 border as it was strung out, and cemented by its own adhesive- 

 ness. If it failed to go completely around the side, she patched 

 out the deficient space with another pellet at a subsequent 

 visit. The opposite side was similarly treated, and the roof was 

 formed by the strips slightly overlapping or joining at the top. 

 Some of these drawn-out pellets, of which the nest is composed, 

 can be traced in the photographic illustration of this nest. 

 This clay tube was built in a slanting direction on the rafter, 

 with the entrance pointing obliquely downward. 



The outside of the nest presented a rough appearance, but the 

 wasp took great pains in smoothing off the interior surface 

 with her wings while the clay was still soft. While engaged 

 in this performance I could hear the musical hum of her wings 

 several yards away, as these rapidly vibrating structures brushed 

 and smoothed off the inside wall. It not infrequently happens 

 that the ends of the wings are seriously worn or mutilated in 

 tliis way. I have witnessed what I took to be an accident of 

 this kind, and also one in which the wings were stuck together 

 by the adhesiveness of the clay. In the latter case, it disabled 

 the wasp from further duty and she left a nearly completed 

 nest, which was never closed, as the male made no attempt 

 to finish the work. 



After the first section of the tube was quite deep and com- 

 pleted, the male appeared on the scene, and during a brief 

 period of courtship he entered the nest with his mate. She 

 now went out foraging for spiders, among the herbage or about 

 the recesses of houses. One by one, she captured and brought 

 these stung victims in and stored them imtil the cell was closely 

 packed full. In the meantime, as the female went away, I 

 saw the male watch her and on her departure he backed into 

 the tube, remaining there until her return. Whether this was 

 simply a retreat for him, or whether he was there to guard 

 the nest, I do not know. After she came back with the last 

 spider and deposited it, she laid her elongated egg on its back, as 

 shown in the lowest spider in the illustration. The wasp then 



