51 



place is the nests of the mud y^-a.?,^ {Pelopaeiis caemeiitarius) . I 

 once found them occupying a deserted paper wasp nest {Polistes) 

 attached to underside of leaf of fan palm. They take possession 

 of the empty cells of nuid wasp nest, which are somewhat too 

 large for them, however, so they divide them into two by a 

 transverse partition of mud. They first put the desired number 

 of caterpillars in the bottom of the cell, having paralj'zed them by 

 stinging them in ventral side, deposit an egg, then put in the 

 nuid partition, and fill up the outer part of the cell similarly, 

 and seal up the opening witli mud. When they use holes in 

 rocks the}' are apt to use a hole about the proper size to hold 

 caterpillars sufficient for one wasp larva to feed upon, and seal 

 the opening with mud. In burrows in earth, or in hollow sticks, 

 they may have several cells end to end. 



The caterpillars which this species gathers are usually al)out an 

 inch long, and they usually gather all one species for one cell, tho 

 sometimes T have found them mixed. The number of caterpillars 

 stored in one cell varies from 6 to 12. There is great variation in the 

 size of the adult wasps, which is evidently due to the amount of 

 food it had when a larva, i. e., the number of caterpillars which 

 lunl been stored for it to feed on. 



In many nests examined, the following species of caterpillars 

 (all leaf-rollers) were found: Omiodes accepta (Cane Leaf- roller), 

 O. localis, O. ruonogona, O. blackburni, Hymenia reairvalis, 

 Cacoecia, sp., Mecyyia atirora. These observations were taken at 

 various places on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. The species of cater- 

 pillar found in each case, was in accordance with the proximity 

 to a place where there was an abundance of this particular species 

 of caterpillar. \Mien in the vicinity of sugar cane-fields where 

 cane leaf -rollers are abundant, they capture a good many of 

 these. Among the other caterpillars, those of the genus Cacoecia 

 are collected in largest numbers. There are two species of these 

 and they are leaf-rollers on almost every kind of tree, shrub and 

 plant, planted or growing wild in the lower parts of the islands. 

 The next most abundant caterpillar collected was Hymenia recur- 

 valis, which is abundant on weeds of the Amarantaceae, on 

 Purslane, and often on Beets. 



