132 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.52. 



investigated. Prof. J. S. Hine, in circular No. 6 of the State Crop 

 Pest Commission of Louisiana, page 27, makes a short report of his 

 observations on a species of Bembix that was determined for him as 

 B. belfragei. I have examined his collection and the specimens bear- 

 ing the label B. belfragei is not that species at all but belong to my 

 new species B. liinei. 



STICTIA CAROLINA Fabricius. 



In the same paper (pp. 20-27) Prof. Hine gives a detailed account 

 of the nesting habits of Stictia Carolina Fabricius ( Monedula Carolina 

 Drury), the activities of the wasps, the character of the nest and its 

 construction, a description of the larva, its size and mode of feeding, 

 the cocoon and the character and quantity of food consumed. 

 According to his observations these wasps prefer to feed their young 

 on adult horse-flies, although they do not confine themselves exclu- 

 sively to these flies. Hartman also has investigated the nesting 

 habits of this species and in the paper cited above states that 

 Stictia Carolina deposits her egg in the empty nest and does not 

 provide food until the egg has hatched. In this respect this species 

 resembles Microbembex instead of Bembix. In other respects the 

 reports show that its breeding habits are quite similar to those of 

 Bembix. 



BICYRTES VENTRALIS Say. 



The species of Bicyrtes, so far as my own observations have gone 

 and so far as is shown by the reports of other investigators, always 

 use hemipterous insects, usually nymphs of the so-called stink-bugs, 

 with which to provision their nests. These insects are paralyzed and 

 in my breeding cells many remained alive for over a week. The nest 

 of B. ventralis Say is made in the sand in situations similar to that 

 chosen by Bembix spinolae, in fact, I have found them nesting side by 

 side in the same sandy area. The nest of Bicyrtes is not so deep as 

 that of Bembix and is kept closed only at the entrance. When the 

 nest is constructed and closed Bicyrtes goes at once in search of prey. 

 When this is secured she returns to the nest carrying her booty in the 

 same fashion as Bembix and in the same fashion retains her hold upon 

 it while opening the nest. The bugs are placed upon their backs in 

 the brood chamber and the egg is deposited upon the first one 

 brought in. 



Unlike Bembix, Bicyrtes does not wait for the egg to hatch before 

 bringing in more food, but proceeds at once to complete the pro- 

 visioning of her nest, which is usually finished and the nest sealed 

 before the egg has hatched. Usually each nest has but a single brood 

 chamber, but in the course of my investigations I found two each of 

 which had two brood chambers reached from the same entrance. In 

 each case, however, the first chamber was provisioned and sealed before 



