280 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



ble that closed the door, while the wasp 

 was in her hole. Returning, she looked 

 about for her door, but not finding it, 

 apparently mistrusted the honesty of a 

 neighbour, which had just descended, 

 leaving her own door temptingly near. 

 She purloined this pebble and was making 

 off with it, when the rightful owner ap- 

 peared and gave chase, compelling her to 

 relinquish it." 



There is another very remarkable story 

 of an Ammophila, told by Mr. Theodore 

 Pergande to the Entomological Society of 

 Washington. While on a gravelly slope 

 Mr. Pergande noticed a female sand-wasp, 

 belonging to the genus Ammophila, flying 

 about in a peculiar fashion. Presently it 

 alighted and ran briskly about in every 

 direction, with the head close to the ground 

 and the abdomen elevated, while the an- 

 tennae were in constant agitation, as if 

 searching for something important, though 

 nothing in any-way striking to the eye 



