﻿THE 
  LIFE 
  HISTOEY 
  AND 
  HABITS 
  OF 
  THE 
  SOLITAEY 
  

   WASP, 
  PHILANTHUS 
  GIBBOSUS. 
  

  

  By 
  Edwabd 
  G. 
  Reinhabd, 
  S. 
  J., 
  

   Woodstock 
  College, 
  Woodstock, 
  Md. 
  

  

  [With 
  3 
  plates.] 
  

  

  Should 
  the 
  ordinary 
  entomologist 
  that 
  tramps 
  the 
  field 
  with 
  col- 
  

   lecting 
  net 
  and 
  cyanide 
  bottle 
  catch 
  sight 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  black 
  and 
  yel- 
  

   low 
  wasp 
  known 
  to 
  scientists 
  as 
  Philanthus 
  gibbosus, 
  he 
  would 
  

   probably 
  pass 
  it 
  by 
  as 
  a 
  specimen 
  scarcely 
  worth 
  a 
  sweep 
  of 
  his 
  net. 
  

   True, 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  insect 
  not 
  rare, 
  nor 
  even 
  handsome, 
  nor 
  deserving 
  of 
  

   much 
  comment 
  when 
  pinned 
  in 
  a 
  cabinet. 
  But, 
  like 
  all 
  the 
  solitary 
  

   wasps, 
  it 
  lives 
  a 
  life 
  of 
  extraordinary 
  interest, 
  fascinating 
  for 
  the 
  

   biologist 
  and 
  the 
  layman 
  alike. 
  

  

  The 
  habits 
  of 
  this 
  Philanthus 
  have 
  previously 
  been 
  studied 
  to 
  

   some 
  extent 
  by 
  the 
  Peckhams 
  1 
  in 
  Wisconsin 
  (1897) 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  

   Raus 
  2 
  in 
  Missouri 
  (1918). 
  These 
  veteran 
  observers 
  have 
  made 
  

   known 
  the 
  general 
  behavior 
  and 
  the 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  features 
  in 
  the 
  

   life 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  wasp. 
  The 
  observations 
  described 
  in 
  this 
  paper 
  

   disagree 
  in 
  no 
  essential 
  point 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  writers. 
  The 
  

   present 
  writer's 
  aim 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  supplement 
  our 
  knowledge 
  and 
  to 
  

   remove 
  lacunae, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  present 
  the 
  life 
  history 
  of 
  Philanthus 
  as 
  a 
  

   nearly 
  complete 
  biography 
  rather 
  than 
  as 
  a 
  cursory 
  sketch. 
  

  

  DESCRIPTION, 
  SYNONOMY, 
  DISTRIBUTION. 
  

  

  Philanthus 
  gibbosus 
  is 
  a 
  small 
  but 
  robust 
  wasp, 
  10 
  to 
  12 
  milli- 
  

   meters 
  in 
  length 
  (pi. 
  1, 
  fig. 
  1). 
  She 
  has 
  a 
  broad 
  head 
  that 
  seems 
  

   almost 
  too 
  large 
  for 
  the 
  dwarfed 
  body. 
  Her 
  coat 
  of 
  chitin 
  is 
  shiny 
  

   black 
  with 
  spots 
  of 
  yellow 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  yellow 
  bands 
  on 
  the 
  

   thorax 
  and 
  abdominal 
  segments. 
  The 
  very 
  large 
  and 
  deep 
  punctures 
  

   on 
  the 
  abdomen 
  of 
  this 
  insect 
  make 
  it 
  an 
  easy 
  species 
  to 
  recognize. 
  

   These 
  conspicuous 
  punctures 
  suggested 
  Say's 
  name 
  of 
  Philanthus 
  

   punctatus. 
  Under 
  this 
  title 
  the 
  wasp 
  has 
  commonly 
  been 
  referred 
  to, 
  

   but 
  Mr. 
  S. 
  A. 
  Rohwer 
  has 
  recently 
  examined 
  into 
  the 
  synonomy 
  of 
  

  

  i 
  Peckham, 
  G. 
  W. 
  and 
  E. 
  G. 
  Instincts 
  and 
  Habits 
  of 
  the 
  Solitary 
  Wasps. 
  Wisconsin 
  

   Geol. 
  and 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  Survey. 
  Bull. 
  2, 
  Sc. 
  Ser. 
  1, 
  pp. 
  117-124. 
  

  

  • 
  Rau, 
  P. 
  and 
  N. 
  Wasp 
  Studies 
  Afield. 
  Princeton 
  University 
  Press, 
  pp. 
  109-116. 
  

  

  363 
  

  

  