WASPS, SOCIAL AND SOLITARY 



back in with it. She was holding it by the under side 

 of the body, the venter being toward the hole, and the 

 legs spread out and stopped its entrance. A moment's 

 tugging convinced her that this would not do, and she 

 then turned the spider over, holding it by the back, 

 whereupon the legs at once folded themselves across 

 the underside of the thorax, and it was drawn out of 

 sight. 



After the egg was laid the wasp came up to the edge 

 of the hole, and drawing in some earth with her mandi- 

 bles began to dance up and down upon it, jamming it 

 into place with her abdomen. Afterwards she came 

 up higher and drew the dirt in with her first legs, not 

 getting out of the hole until it was entirely filled up. 

 Then began a remarkable performance. Bracing herself 

 firmly on her legs she used the end of her abdomen as 

 an instrument, and with it she now pounded the earth, 

 now rubbed it, Hke a pestle in a mortar, and now used 

 it as a brush to sweep away loose dust. Sometimes she 

 would throw a httle earth back under her body with her 

 mandibles and rub it down with her abdomen. This 

 part of the work being finished, she spent a few minutes 

 in sweeping the ground with her first legs, and then 

 brought a quantity of small objects and placed them 

 over the nest, — a Httle stick, the petal of a faded flower, 



218 



