262 Ayinals Entomological Society of America [Vol. IX, 



of dropping, it crawled to the apex of the plant. When I left 

 it in peace again it crept down to its own chosen spot on the 

 plant. I then gave it six more hard licks, whereupon it sought 

 shelter under a leaf near by. With sixteen more blows the 

 insect walked to the under side of another leaf, and even with 

 twenty more hard licks it could not be induced to perform the 

 daylight drop. Becoming impatient, I carried the insect 

 bodily to a nearby path. It walked about eighteen inches to a 

 small plot of short grass, climbed to the top of one blade and 

 tried to look out, and at once meekly came down and tried 

 another. I took it up and carried it to an iron weed near by. 

 Here it plodded its way faithfully to the top where it wearily 

 settled itself. By this time my curiosity was fully aroused as to 

 how much the beetle would endure without fully waking, but 

 at this point the urchin who was holding the lantern exclaimed : 

 "Aw! pick on somebody your own size!" 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



Scudder in 1§89, in speaking of the butterflies af rest and 

 asleep, says: "Up to the present time no proper investigation 

 has been made in regard to the sleep of insects. A wide and 

 open field lies before the enquirer, and it is for his use that I 

 have tried to bring together a few facts concerning the postures 

 and behavior of butterflies in different circumstances. The 

 facts however are too few whereon to base any general state- 

 ments likely to require no important modification on future 

 investigations, and I leave them for the present barren of results 

 in the hope of enticing some one to enter a promising field and 

 perchance relieve these facts of their present stupidity. " 



Despite these suggestive remarks, twenty-six years have 

 elapsed without an investigator making a study of the ecology 

 of sleeping insects solely. But here and there are recorded or 

 more often buried under some far-away title some casual notes 

 on the sleeping habits of insects. 



The foremost among these are on the most interesting 

 insects from a psychological point of view, the Aculeate Hy- 

 menoptera, bees and wasps. Peckhams tell us that the wasp 

 Astata bicolor, when she turns in for the night, closes the door 

 behind her until 7 :30 o'clock the next morning; then she finishes, 

 fills and seals this nest and begins another which by evening is 



