THE MINERS 293 



original fashion. Backing in herself, she 

 seized it by the tip of the abdomen^ and 

 dragged it down without any trouble, 

 since the legs were gently pushed up over 

 the head and made no resistance. 



" In two minutes she emerged from the 

 opening, and standing on the four poste- 

 rior legs, with her abdomen hanging 

 down into the hole, scratched the earth 

 backward with the front legs and mandi- 

 bles. As it fell in she pushed it down 

 with the abdomen, and as the hole filled 

 she raised herself higher and higher on 

 her legs, still using the tip of the abdomen 

 to work the material into place." 



The underground nests of the digger- 

 wasps differ in form according to the 

 species, and somewhat according to the 

 individual. They all make a burrow, how- 

 ever, ending in some sort of little com- 

 partment, where the insects used as food 

 can be stored. Many of them store but 



Wasps generally drag their victims down head first. 



