WASPS, SOCIAL AND SOLITARY 



her to have dug her nest close by the place of capture, 

 but perhaps she had one larva already stored with her 

 egg upon it. The caterpillar was carried two hundred 

 and sixty-one feet while we watched her, with an un- 

 known distance at each end to complete the line between 

 the place of capture and the nest. She could scarcely 

 have lost her way, since at every return she proceeded on 

 her journey in one general direction without any hesita- 

 tion. It seems probable then that she had hunted too 

 far afield, and did not realize, when she started with her 

 booty, what an undertaking it would be to carry it to the 

 nest. We once saw A. vulgaris have a similar experience. 

 She was running along with a small green caterpillar, 

 but became discouraged either at the difficulty of finding 

 her nest, or at the distance she had to cover. She would 

 carry the caterpillar a little way, drop it, circle about 

 a while, and then pick it up again ; but finally she gave 

 up the whole undertaking and flew away. 



The affairs of Ammophila must frequently go wrong, 

 since in still another of our few examples we saw much 

 trouble and labor wasted. The wasp, in this case an 

 urnaria, captured her caterpillar successfully and pro- 

 ceeded to carry it off. She was far from being in a hurry, 

 going along for a. foot or so, and then making a long 

 pause, during which she would lay it down and either 



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