THE BUG-HUNTERS. 91 



have been attracted, as she evidently was, to the site of the old 

 nest? 



The egg which we took ont on the sixth hatched just before 

 noon of the same day, so that the eg^ stage in this species is 

 probably not more than twenty-four hours. The larva ate the 

 three bugs provided, and spun its cocoon on September tenth. 



On September seventh we found our fourth and last individ- 

 ual of Astata miicolor. This one, which was much larger 

 than any of the others, was making her nest when first discov- 

 ered, pushing out gi'eat quantities of earth with the end of her 

 abdomen. She was extremely tame at this stage of her proceed- 

 ings, allowing herself to be caught and examined, and then re- 

 suming her work without the slightest sign of fear or perturba- 

 tion. She worked slowly and deliberately for several hours and 

 made a large round hole. The earth that was heaped up around 

 the edges was not smoothed away and no effort was made to 

 render the nest inconspicuous, excepting that the spot chosen 

 was partly covered by a weed. 



During the next few days our wasp did not spend much time 

 in the neighborhood of her nest. We occasionally saw her 

 going in or out but always empty handed. A beautiful big 

 green Clirysis fly was watching the course of events even more 

 closely than we were, spending her time around the nest or 

 even inside of it. When the proprietor came home the intruder 

 flew out and alighted close by. The wasp showed no resentment 

 and the fly no fear. Thinking that she might interfere with 

 our own designs we caught and executed the would-be male- 

 factor, only to see her place taken by a smaller fly of the same 

 family. 



On September seventh our wasp was carrying in bugs, and 

 now we found that a great change had come over her attitude 

 toward us. Up to this time she had considered us as beneath 

 her notice, but when she began to provide food for her off- 

 spring we at once became objects of distrust and suspicion, and 

 nothing would induce her to go into the nest while we were 

 near. She flew about the place, frequently alighting and seem- 



