Some Solitary Wasps of Texas. 37 



Bemhidula digs much like the other members of her family al- 

 ready described : Bernbex, Microhembex and Monedula. During 

 the progress of the work of digging the wasp makes short excursions, 

 (on foot chiefly), around the neighborhood. Wasp No. 58 con- 

 tinued digging for about two hours and at 13 :30, when she had 

 finished, she closed the entrance with sand. Before venturing away 

 from her nest for the first time, she made a rather careful study of 

 the locality, flying in and out among the herbs and bushes. In clos- 

 ing her nest, No. 58 had more difficulty than her sisters because 

 her nest opened on a sloping surface like a cave on the face of a 

 precipice. In other cases, where the nest ran down from a level 

 surface, there was left after closing a shallow elliptical depression 

 like a gentle finger imprint almost characteristic of the species. I 

 frequently made use of this depression to tell whether or not a wasp 

 had visted her nest during my absence : I would smooth the entrance 

 over and if the pit was visible on my return I had reason to believe 

 that the wasp had come and gone. Bembecids as a rule are not 

 easily disturbed by changes around their nests, as is the case with the 

 Pompilidae to a high degree. In the case of the species under con- 

 sideration, I often smoothed over the sand covering the entrance, 

 but this in no way, as far as I could detect, disconcerted the wasp 

 on her return. Sometimes I would, in addition, lay a blade of 

 grass over the nest. The wasp would nevertheless find the nest im- 

 mediately and merely kick the obstruction away. One individual, 

 with a temper, once picked it up with her mandibles, carried it off 

 to a distance and flung it angrily away. 



At 12 :30 the nest of wasp No. 58, which I began to describe, 

 was completed and the wasp had flown away. I was at the time 

 trying to keep four nests of three different species under observa- 

 tion and therefore failed to see this one enter her nest on her first 

 return. 



At 3:07 she came back again and descended slowly toward the 

 nest. When within three inches of the surface, she hovered an in- 

 stant, then dropped suddenly like a dead-weight and after a mo- 

 ment's pause at the entrance opened it up and walked in. As she en- 

 tered I could see her pass a very small bug back to her hind legs in so 

 deft a manner as would do credit to a slight-of-hand performer. 

 She remained inside but a minute, then came out, closing the nest 

 behind her. In every case that came under my observation this 

 species closed the nest thoroughly before flying away. On her re- 



