46 



PSYCHE. 



[Muich 1S94. 



iilg Chaitophoriis lonicera Monell 

 into a burrow matle in hard or com- 

 pacted s.ind, probabl\' containing cells 

 made by some other insect; while the 

 third I have seen capturing and carry- 

 ing off" a maple aphis, Chaitopho7-iis 

 sp. 



Faviilv IV. Pemphredon'idae. Ac- 

 cording to Mr. Fox's recent Synop- 

 sis, this family is represented in our 

 fiuma by- 6 genera and 37 species. 



Shuckard considered the genus 

 Passaloecus to be parasitic in its habits, 

 based upon a superficial observation on 

 P. insignis, and this opinion seems to 

 be supported bv Kirchiier, who records 

 P. tiirlomtm Dahlb. as a parasite of 

 Tortrix resinanae. Westwood, how- 

 ever, states that P. gracilis Curt, and 

 P. co;-«/Ver Shuck., as observed by Mr. 

 Kennedy, provide Aphides for the food 

 of their progeny, carrying them in the 

 mouth into cells placed in holes in posts. 

 This agrees with an observation of 

 mine on a common American species, 

 Passaloecus anmilatiis Say, several of 

 which I have taken as they went in and 

 came out of their burrows in the bark of 

 an old pine tree, and from v\hicli I after- 

 wards dug out their cells, which were 

 made of clay. I believe, therefore, that 

 Shuckard and Kirchner are wrong in 

 calling these insects parasites. In fact, 

 all the species in this family, except 

 those belonging to the genus Diodontus, 

 are t\ pical wood-wasps, iorming their 

 nests or cells in rotten wood, decaying 

 bark of trees or in hollow stems of 

 plants, and provisioning the same with 

 Aphides or other small insects. 



Diodontus iiiinutus Fabr. and D- 

 tristis Dahlb., two European species, 

 have beeti observed to burrow in sand ; 

 and this agiees with what I have ob- 

 served of the American species Diodon- 

 tus americanits Pack., two specimens 

 of which I have captured while in the 

 act of burrowing in hard clay, while 

 other specimens were observed going in 

 their burrows near by. An eBbrt \vas 

 made to investigate two or three of 

 these burrows, but the holes were so 

 exceedingly small as to batHe me in my 

 etibrts, filling up rapidly as I attempted 

 to dig them out with my pocket knife 

 and leaving no trace to follow. The 

 burrows evidentiv extended to a con- 

 siderable depth. 



Westwood says Pemphredon lugu- 

 bris Fabr. burrows in decaved wood 

 and pi-ovisions its nest with Aphides. 

 In Florida, I have observed Pewpkre- 

 don angularis Fox carrying oft" pine 

 Aphides but never succeeded in finding 

 its nest. 



Cemonus westmacli Morowitz, is 

 reported to form its nest in the stems 

 of Rubus, Sambucirs, the deserted oak- 

 gall Cvnips kollari., or even in the 

 empty cocoon oS. Li para litccns. 



Mr. Kennedv, according to West- 

 wood, discovered that Stiffnius troislo- 

 dytes formed its cells in hollow straws 

 of a thatch, which it filled with minute 

 insects apparently the larvae of a Thrips, 

 as many as fifty being found in one 

 cell. 



Stigmits argeittif rolls Ashm. MS. 

 provisions its cells with inimatiu'e 

 Aphides from the hone\-suckle. 



