112 THE SOLITARY WASPS. 



another return, more circlings and hesitations. She seemed to 

 feel the weight of the beetle now, and alighted frequently on 

 the ground and walked about, jet she would not go in, so reluc- 

 tant was she to betray her nest. In this way she kept us wait- 

 ing for a whole hour, although w^e were not sitting very close 

 and were as still as statues. At last we retreated and stood as 

 far back as we could and still keep the hole in view. She now 

 came closer, and, after hanging poised on her wings for a mo- 

 ment, dropped into her nest. 



We once found a nest of this species in process of construc- 

 tion. A large heap of fresh earth had been pushed out and 

 this entirely covered the spot, but at intervals there were up- 

 heavals from below which betrayed the presence of the wasp. 

 When we saw it first it was half past eight o'clock, and we 

 judged, from what had been accomplished, that she must have 

 been at work at least an hour. It was half past nine before 

 the excavation was complete. We had not been certain, up to 

 this time, as to what w^e were watching, but now we had the 

 pleasure of seeing her open her doorway from below and stand 

 in the entrance wliile she washed her face, very prettily. When 

 they rest at the mouth of the hole the first legs, which are yel- 

 low, are bowed in a semi-circle on each side of the yellow face, 

 the distal joints being bent up so that the wasps seem to be 

 standing on their elbows. This attitude, which is often seen 

 in Bemheco spinolae, gives them a delightfully amusing, bow- 

 legged appearance. They usually open their nests in the morn- 

 ing at about nine o'clock, — a little earlier or later according 

 to the time at which the sun strikes the spot. They then spend 

 from forty minutes to an hour in taking a sur\'ey, the least 

 movement on the part of a watcher causing them to drop out 

 of sight as if the earth had given way beneath them. Some- 

 times there is a little way-station an inch or two -within the tun- 

 nel, and the wasp only falls back to this point, and here she may 

 be seen, if one peeps in cautiously, either quietly awaiting the 

 retreat of the intruder or, perhaps, performing her toilet in a 



