36 Some Solitary Wasps of Texas. 



the bush and lands on her nest. This strange mode of approach was 

 used each time a bug was brought home, at 1 :27, 2 :17, 3 :27, 4:41. 

 It thus required over an hour for this individual to catch a bug as 

 against one-half hour for the others. 



The chamber of this nest, M-hich was closed like the others, was 

 about tlie same dimensions as noted for the nest of No. 39. It con- 

 tained five bugs, one of which was dead, three nearly dead and one 

 so little paralyzed that it kicked spontaneously. Three of the bugs 

 lived one day, while the lively one lived for five days. 



The egg had the conventional position on the sternum of a bug, 

 but it was soon lost. A Muscid larva pupated on Sept. 3d and some 

 Phorid pupae were also present in the bottle on Sept. loth. 

 - It is thus seen that Bembex helfragei displays a considerable 

 amount of individual variation in general disposition, in the man- 

 ner of approaching and leaving the nest^ in the time required to dig 

 and store it. The effect of her sting is also variable, the victim be- 

 ing killed outright or living as long as five days. It may be said 

 that this wasp is a novice in the art of stinging her prey, though she 

 shows considerable more skill than Beinbex texanus or Monedula 

 Carolina. 



(b) Bembidula Pa rata, Prov., and Bembidula Pictifrons, 



Smith. 



Of these interesting and rather common species my notes show 

 observations on only four individuals. From a study of their hab- 

 its I concluded that I was dealing with a single species. However, 

 No. 58 below was identified for me as B. parata and No. 48 as picti- 

 frons; of the others I am in doubt. Since the habits of the two 

 species agree so closely, I shall describe them as if they were really 

 a single species. The wasps are smaller and stouter than Bembex 

 helfragei, big bug-catcher, and the yellow bands on the abdomen and 

 thorax are comparatively broader and more intensely yellow than 

 those of the latter, so that as the wasps fly around the impression of 

 yellow is the predominating one over that of black, the predominat- 

 ing color of helfragei. 



Specimen No. 58 I observed from the time she was flying around 

 in search of a suitable place to dig her nest up to the final closing. 

 The wasp began digging at several places and finally chose the 

 side of a shallow pit where only the day before I had dug up an 

 Ammophila nest. The pit was six inches deep and the nest was 

 begun three inches below the upper edge of one side. 



