34 Hardy, The Stinging of G. coarctata by D. hicolor. [^"^jui^^'' 



are parasitic on Lepidoptera, Bakewell having obtained 

 specimens from subterranean cocoons." Subsequently, how- 

 ever, Froggatt pubhshed his Austrahan work, and, amongst 

 other information as to formation of cocoons, &c , suggests that 

 " the females lay their eggs in Lamellicorn larvae living in loose 

 soil."* Davis says :— " But, except as regards the kind of prey, 

 there is a sufficient amount of adjustment to varying circum- 

 stances to warrant the conclusion that intelligence also plays a 

 part in the complex series of operations.' f The present is an 

 example of the association of a "solitary" wasp, Diamma 

 hicolor, Westwood,J the " black ant," sometimes called the " blue 

 ant," and Gryllotalpa coarctata, Walker,§ the Australian Mole 

 Cricket. 



About a month ago, on a sandy grass-plot at Kew, Victoria, 

 I noticed this apterous, ant-like, female wasp, conspicuous 

 because of her dark purplish metallic sheen of body and brown 

 legs and antennae, dragging an apparently dead male " Mole 

 Cricket." She did not use her legs except for locomotion, but 

 grasped with her powerful jaws sometimes one, sometimes 

 another, of the palpi, or at times an antenna of her prey ; 

 only occasionally a fore leg, which was always quickly aban- 

 doned for a head grip. The wasp struggled backwards with 

 her captive, which she trailed along the ground or over the 

 tangled grass shoots, experiencing much difficulty, especially 

 on this occasion, as a recent cutting of the grass had left many 

 loose pieces, that gave her an insecure foothold. Never once 

 did she, by design or accident, attemj^t to bestride the cricket, 

 for the very good reason that the latter was several times 

 larger than herself, and besides, it is, I believe, the winged 

 wasps which carry food in that manner, and countless generations 

 of wasps of this species had probably worked in precisely this 

 way. Now and again she left it to reconnoitre, always in one 

 general direction, but with many little deviations, and on 

 returning would renew hauling with greater vigour and seeming 

 impatience, which was most evident when a blade of grass 

 made further direct progress impossible. Then she would 

 relinquish her tenacious hold of an appendage that one had 

 expected to snap under the tensile strain long before, and 

 would quickly bite away and clear the obstructions from the 

 immediate vicinity until fairway had been obtained. Search 

 in the direction indicated failed to reveal her objective, even 



* Mr. F. Spry has informed me that at the National Museum, Mel- 

 bourne, some of the life stages of Diamma hicolor, including the cocoon, 

 may be seen. 



t "Nat. Hist. Animals," Prof. Ainsworth Davis (1905). 



I Identification confirmed by Mr. Chas. French, jun. 



§ " Australian Insects," Froggatt (1907). [Mr Froggatt has since seen a 

 specimen and confirmed the identification. — A. D. H.] 



