WASPS. 175 



ot the Botanic Gardens and at times alighting on the 

 grass and burrowing through. 



The female scoliid of some species seeks out the 

 fat curled grubs of the lamellicorn beetles and lays 

 an Qgg on the outside of the victim. To enable these 

 wasps to hunt for the grubs in the ground, the body 

 is furnished with a pair of strong digging legs with 

 backward-directed bristles. The wasp-larva 



hatches out and feeds on the juices of the body, and 

 increases in size until ready to pupate. It then spins 

 a stout golden cocoon beside its victim which is now 

 shrunken and lifeless. The adult emerges from its 

 cocoon in the earth, and digs its way out. and flies 

 off. 



Another beautiful yellow and black scoliid is 

 Diclis 7- ciiicta, which is parasitic, among other grubs, 

 on the larva of the sugar cane lamellicorn beetle 

 {Lipid odcrma albo-Iiirtimi.) The grubs of this beetle 

 feed on the roots of the sugar cane so that the wasp 

 in destroying some of these grubs is a little friend 

 to the cane growers. \Ye have caught the wasp 

 on flowers of Leptospermiim (Tea-tree), at Maroubra 

 and Lindfield, and it is common along our coast and 

 in Queensland. We have watched the blue metallic 

 wasp, Discolia soror, feeding on the nectar of flowers 

 such as marigolds, pincushions, etc., in the Botanic 

 Gardens, and it was interesting to note that whereas 

 the bee with its longer tongue could easily reach 

 the nectar at the base of the flower tube, the Dis- 

 colia had to push its head into the cluster of flowers 

 in order to reach the feast. This wasp is also 

 ^ound feeding on the nectar of many native flowers. 



