Some Solitary Wasps of Texas. 39 



the wasp and as the latter descended, gradually the fly flew back- 

 ward ahead of the wasp, maintaining a distance of about three 

 inches from her until the two reached tlie nest. After this was 

 opened and the wasp had entered, the fly went in also and came out 

 just ahead of the wasp. In the nest I found five bugs, one of which 

 held the egg which was attached exactly like the egg of B. belfragei. 



iSTo. 50 began digging her nest at 9 :30, only five feet from that of 

 No. 48, also on the same day. She stored her bugs in the afternoon 

 of September 2nd. As the wasp had not visited the nest after 11 :30 

 Sept. 2nd, I opened the nest at 8 :00 a. m. Sept. 3rd and found a 

 large larva among ten bugs, the viscera of most of which had 

 already been eaten away. The nest is shown in Fig. 19. It was a 

 compound curve sloping downward and toward the right for a dis- 

 tance of eight inches. The pocket, four and one-half inches from 

 the surface, was one-half inch in diameter and three-fourth inch in 

 length. 



The larva began spinning its cocoon at 10 :00 a. m. Sept. 5, i. e. 

 on the fifth day after the egg was laid. It never quite finished spin- 

 ning, though the pupa lived for ten days. 



(c) HOPLISOIDES, Sp? 



This is a little brown was|) with yellow stripes, inconspicuous on 

 account of its small size but of very energetic and business-like airs 

 — like certain under-sized people. The species is rather rare, as I 

 have seen only several specimens and but one actually at work on 

 her nest. While I was standing in the shade, awaiting the return of 

 several bug-catchers that had gone hunting, a Hoplisoides dropped 

 down in front of me. She was carrying something which she let 

 fall and immediately began digging for the entrance to her nest. 

 She had evidently lost trace of this, for she dug at a number of 

 places in vain. Bits of dried leaves and bark were strewn about and 

 these were kicked away as though they were the cause of the wasp's 

 mistake, instead of being fit land-marks by which the wasp might 

 have been guided and the mistake prevented. As it was, some min- 

 utes were spent in finding and opening the nest. When this was done 

 the wasp talked in. Assured that all was right, she came out and 

 seized a piece of wood of the size and shape of the bug she had 

 brought, rose on the wing to the height of a few inches, settled at 

 the entrance again and walked in. I expected her to take in the 

 bug lying in the entrance ; but the piece of wood was carried in first 



