VII. SOME OTHER SPIDER RAVISHERS. 



(a) PoMPiLus Marginatus, Say. 



This species of Pompilus has had its story well told by previous 

 admirers. Tl.e single specimen, whose ways are here described, 

 while agreeing in mental traits with lier northern sisters, still, in 

 my opinion, deserves a mention among her southern relatives to 

 which these pages are devoted. 



August 2d was a fine, hot day and my early expectations of some 

 interesting performances by my insect entertainers were fully rea- 

 lized during the day. At 9 :45, I came across a small Pompiliis 

 marginatus. The sprightly little spider ravisher alighted on the 

 ground and hopped about in great agitation. I had often seen the 

 species on the hunt and was anxious to see one in a duel with the 

 eight-legged enemy of her race, or at work digging and storing the 

 nest. She was at this time much more excited than when on the 

 hunt; and she soon began to dig at a number of places only a few 

 inches apart, showing that she was looking for a suitable place to 

 dig her nest. After eight minutes of trial, she finally settled upon 

 a place that seemed to suit her, little realizing, however, that she 

 had chosen for the home of her offspring, the middle of a much 

 used path through the sandy woods-. Here she began to dig with 

 vim and in a few minutes had dug a hole an inch or more in 

 deptli and was bringing out the sand at regular intervals, which 

 increased in length with the increase in depth of the nest. The 

 sand was pushed up in loads with the hind legs and the end of 

 the abdomen. The wasp did not appear with a load each time, but 

 often five or six loads would be allowed ot accumulate at the en- 

 trance, when the whole pile would be pushed out and scattered 

 away from tlie entrance more or less carefully. All the work was 

 done in feverish haste. While busy on the surface, the furious little 

 worker held her wings straight up in the air, at times vibrating 

 them and making them flash in the sunlight. 



Marginatus is a species that catches her prey before digging her 

 nest and she did not delay long to make known where the spider 

 was located. At 9 :56, i. e., after the wasp had been digging but 

 a minute, she left her nest and ran off among the grass and weeds 



