14 Some Solitary Wasps of Texas. 



has observed Ammophila varrowi take the greatest i)ains to close 

 and conceal the entrance each time a caterpillar is brought in 

 though she stores four to five of these. This is also the case with 

 the smaller procera observed by me, for when she brought in the 

 third caterpillar she scratched out much sand, bits of wood, etc., 

 which she threw away. Finally she pulled out the plug at the bot- 

 tom which she laid down close by for use at the final closure. The 

 five larger specimens of A. procera observed by me agreed with the 

 French hirsuta of Fabre, in that each stored but one large caterpillar 

 and was thus relieved of the necessity of closing the nest. Procera 

 differs from her French cousin in that she digs her nest before catch- 

 ing her prey as two to six hours elapse between the digging of the 

 nest and the bringing home of the prey. It is thus seen that the 

 habit of closing the nest while the wasp is off searching for her 

 prey does not depend on the number or size of the caterpillars but 

 seems to have developed independently and to different degrees in 

 the different species and is by no means constant for any given 

 species. 



At 9 :40 a. m. on July 22d, while busy observing the doings of 

 Monedula Carolina I saw a small Anunophila running over the sand 

 carrying a good sized caterpillar in her mandibles. She soon 

 dropped her victim and flew away, preumably to visit the nest and 

 make sure of the road. In a few moments the wasp came back and 

 searched right and left for the caterpillar. Twice she passed within 

 two inches of it without noticing it, which would seem to indicate 

 a rather weak sense of smell. 



Again the caterpillar was picked up and carried off at the rate 

 of five feet a minute over obstructions in the way, to her nest located 

 in the shade of a clump of saplings. Here the caterpillar was laid 

 down on a smooth surface several inches in diameter where the wasp 

 began to open up its nest. Sand and dry twigs and leaves were 

 pulled out and cast away promiscuously. The last piece of wood 

 brought up was the largest and most compact and was not cast 

 away like the others but was carefully laid down near the entrance. 

 Ammophila did not forget the caterpillar during these few minutes 

 but frequently approached and touched it with her antennae. When 

 all was ready the wasp backed into the tunnel, got hold of the 

 caterpillar and pulled it down. The caterpillar was sufficiently 

 alive to grasp a blade of grass and hold on, but the wasp tugged 

 till it had dragged the caterpillar into its grave. 



After remaining inside three minutes, the wasp came out, walked 



