i68 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



is left in a heap near the entrance of the 

 burrow. When the burrow is completed 

 the wasp begins to look about for a victim, 

 which, when found, is not killed but merely 

 paralyzed with her powerful sting. The 

 Cicada is then taken to the burrow, 

 dragged into it, and an egg laid upon the 

 body. The wasp, however, often finds it 

 somewhat difficult to transport her victims 

 from the place where captured, to her bur- 

 rows, because the Cicada is really the larger 

 insect of the two, and it also frequents 

 forests and groves that are often far dis- 

 tant from the open field where the wasp 

 has made her nest. It is in this transpor- 

 tation of her victims that she displays her 

 consummate skill, not relying wholly upon 

 her own strength, but taking advantage of 

 the wind and other conditions likely to 

 aid her in the work she has to do. 



Among the many instances that have 

 come witjiin my own observation, of this 

 handsome burying wasp taking advantage 

 of the wind to secure or transport her 

 victims, there is one that I will relate, 

 inasmuch as it has been so often repeated, 

 that I cannot doubt the premeditated de- 

 sign of the insect. To make the matter 

 plain to the reader I will state that the 

 wasps frequent the main walk or road 

 through the center of my grounds, this 

 road running nearly due west to east, 

 slightly descending the entire length, and 

 it is altogether some twenty-five or thirty 

 rods long. For the first half of the distance 

 this road is bordered on both sides with 

 trees and shrubs, some of considerable 

 height. The wasps go beyond these and 

 make their burrows, and within a few rods of 

 the lower end, where there is little to ob- 

 struct their flight or work in digging their 

 holes. The nearest forests or woodland are 

 to the east and north, and on still lower 

 grounds, from which it would be impossible 

 for the wasps to obtain a supply of Cicadas, 

 while to the west and south they would have 

 to go much further to find their prey. But 

 unfortunately for the latter, but fortunate 

 for the wasps, there is a small grove of 

 about two acres of large old trees on the 

 west side of my place, and up to which the 



main walk referred to leads. This grove 

 stands upon still higher ground or about 

 twenty feet higher than the point selected 

 by the wasps for their nests. The land 

 about the trees has never been broken up 

 and the Cicadas breed among these old trees 

 and in the ground undisturbed except by 

 their inveterate enemy the Digger Wasp. 

 With the first drumming of the Dog-day 

 Cicada the wasps appear and the battle 

 commences, and the " tug of war " is in 

 getting the Cicadas from this grove down 

 the path to the burying ground. When the 

 wind blows from the south, east, or north, 

 the Cicadas have peace, but let a breeze 

 spring from the west and then the wasps 

 will begin their murderous work in earnest. 

 As my office stands on the highest point 

 in the grove named, I have abundant op- 

 portunities of witnessing the war of races 

 going on and the tactics of the combat- 

 ants, although it may be said that the 

 armor of the Cicadas soon yields to the 

 deadly thrusts of the wasps. With the first 

 onslaught the Cicada usually falls to the 

 ground, the wasp following immediately, 

 getting astride of its back, clasping her 

 victim with her two front legs, the four 

 hind ones being left free. She quickly 

 ascends the nearest tree, sliding the Cicada 

 up the bark quite rapidly. When the top- 

 most branch is reached, or the wasp thinks 

 she is high enough, she lets go, flying with 

 the wind toward the resting place many 

 rods to the eastward. In one instance a 

 wasp carried her victim up an oak tree on 

 the west side and close to my office, but as 

 the tree reached above it she carried her 

 victim safely over and landed within a rod 

 of her burrow. I followed her as rapidly 

 as my legs would carry me, and found her 

 still astride of the Cicada, trying to slide 

 it along toward the rest. Where the path 

 was firm she succeeded very well, but when 

 striking loose sand she could not obtain a 

 good foothold and had to dismount, turn 

 around and drag the prey along after her. 

 When the mouth of the hole was reached 

 she soon disappeared with her victim. In 

 the meantime I had sent for a spade, with 

 which herself and victim was unearthed, for 



