Some Solitary ^Vasps of Texas. 41 



the chamber three-eighths inches in diameter and one-half inch 

 long, five inches from the entrance and two and one-half inches 

 below the surface of the soil. The passage from the entrance to the 

 chamber was filled with sand and could be traced only near the 

 ends. 



The chambers contained seven bugs, among which lay the abov* 

 mentioned piece of wood as though the wasp had carried it in, sup- 

 posing it to be a bug. The bugs were all nymphs of the same 

 species, one of the family Memhracidae. Three of the bugs re- 

 sponded to stimulation. The egg, 2 mm. in length was attached 

 to the ventral surface of the bug close to and parallel to the maiv 

 gin of the thorax opposite the first and second pairs of legs. From 

 its position I supposed this bug to be one of the last brought in. 



On September 4th, two days later two bugs responded to stimula- 

 tion by a slight twitching. The egg looked dead on this day and 

 finally withered. 



(d) Alyson Melleus, Sat. 



A. melleus is a slender wasp, less than half an inch long, in shape 

 and size much like Agenia, the little spider-ravisher. Black is the 

 predominating color of her body, her head, antennae, tip of wings, 

 and abdomen having that color, while her thorax and wings are red. 

 She is, moreover, easily recognized by the pair of round white spots 

 on the sides of her abdomen. She resembles the Agenia mentioned 

 also in the easy grace with which she flits from place to place when 

 on the hunt, which is mostly done on herbs and bushes. She runs 

 swiftly up and down the stems and over the leaves, both the upper 

 and the under sides, often darting like a flash to another branch or 

 to another plant. 



The species must be rather common in the woods, for I have 

 often seen her on the hunt and have several times seen her at 

 work on her nest. She always selects the sloping sides of a pit as 

 a location for her nest, at least I have never seen it at any other 

 place. Fig. 24 is a photograph of the side of a pit perforated by 

 holes dug by a numHr of species of Oxyhelus, Alyson, Bemhex, and 

 others. There is an evident advantage to such a location over the 

 usual position of a Bemhex nest, which runs down from a level sur- 

 face, for Mutillids of various sizes, running around in great num- 

 bers, never climb up a sloping surface to find the nests of digger- 

 wasps. 



