April 1S94.] 



PSYCHE. 



61 



248, that we had anv int'urmation iu 

 detail of its habits, burrow, and 

 development. 



Dr. Riley is justly noted for the 

 tKoroucrhness of all of his entomologi- 

 cal work, but in this paper, we have a 

 model of just how the biologv of our 

 bees and wasps should be worked out; 

 and I hope others will imitate it in 

 working up the habits and development 

 of other of our bees and wasps. 



In this article Dr. Riley has given 

 very thoroughly the entire life history 

 of this interesting wasp, illustrating the 

 saine with most beautiful figures, the 

 wasp with its prey, a diagram of its 

 burrows, the position of egg attached 

 to the Cicada, the larva, pupa, larva 

 formini^ its cocoon, and the cocoon 

 itself. I do not quote from it, as it is 

 readilv accessible and should be read 

 bv all to lie thoroughlv appreciated. 



The habits of no other of our Bem- 

 becids seem to have been worked out in 

 detail. In Florida I have observed 

 Alotiediila Carolina preving upon the 

 large horse-Hy Tabaitus atraiits, so 

 troublesome to horses and cattle in the 

 South. A singular peculiarity of this 

 insect is its ability to fly backwards in 

 front of a moving horse while watchino- 

 the opportunity to suddenly bounce 

 upon and seize one of these flies. 



Mr. D. W. Coquillett tells me that 

 while in California he has frequentlv 

 observed Bembex fasciata Fabr. storing 

 its nests with Eristalis tenax, while 

 Bembex obsoleta Sav employs flies 

 belonging to the genera Musca, Lucilia, 

 Sarcophaga and Psilocephala. 



Heie it will be well to quote from 

 John Bartram's paper -'On the yellow 

 wasp of Pennsylvania" published in 

 1763 (Phil, trans., vol. 53 (1763). pp. 

 37-39)1 as I believe he has reference to 

 a Bembecid. He says: — ■ 



I saw several of these wasps flying about a 

 heap of sandj loam : they settled on it and 

 verv nibly scratched away the sand with their 

 fore feet, to find their nests whilst they held 

 a large f^y under their wings with one of 

 feet; they crept with it into the hole that 

 lead to the nest and staid there about three 

 minutes, when they came out. With their 

 hind feet, they threw the sand so dexterously 

 over the hole, as not to be discovered ; then 

 taking flight, soon returned with more flies, 

 settled down, uncovered the hole, and entered 

 with their prey. 



This extraordinary operation raised mv 

 curiosity to try and find the entrance, but 

 the sand fell in so fast that I was pre- 

 vented, until by repeated essays I was so 

 lucky as to find one. It was six inches in 

 the ground, and at the farther end lay a 

 large magot, nearly an inch long, thick as a 

 small goose-quill, with several flies near it, 

 and the remains of many more. These 

 flies are provided for the magot to feed on 

 before it changes into the nymph state: 

 then it eats no more until it attains to a 

 perfect wasp. 



It will be seen on reading the accoinit 

 of the habits of the European B. ros- 

 trata that this statement of John 

 Bartram's, made one hundred and 

 twenty-eight years ago, is now con- 

 firmed. 



The European Bonbex rosti-ata has 

 been ver}- thoroughly worked out by Mr. 

 C. Wesenberg, in a paper in the Danish 

 language, entitled "Bembex rostrata ; 

 its life and instincts," published in tlie 



