124 Psyche [August 



grown and nearly mature Cicindela larvae. The mouth of the jar 

 was covered with fine gauze and the jar itself sunk in the soil in 

 a sunny spot, to the level of the sand within. The wasps were fed 

 sugar and water placed on flowers, and this appeared to prolong life, 

 one Methoca living about ten days. Several of the tiger-beetle 

 larvae had one to several (five in one case) small, orange-colored 

 maggots attached to the body. These were probably the larvae 

 of the bombyliid fly Spogostyliun, whose life-history has been 

 partly worked out by Shelf ord ('13). I was unable to watch 

 Methoca, during the greater part of the time, but did notice that 

 while they were often careful to avoid Cicindelid burrows, at other 

 times they would enter these and make them their abode for the 

 night, the original occupant keeping to the bottom. In the after- 

 noon of a very warm day I emptied the jar of its contents to find two 

 semi-paralyzed beetle larvae each with a Methoca clinging to its 

 venter busy malaxating, despite the rude unearthing. But their 

 operations went no farther. On another occasion I observed 

 Methoca putting the finishing touches to her work, in depositing 

 grains of soil on the filled-up burrow. I obtained several eggs of 

 the wasp. These, as also observed by the European writers, were 

 transversely arranged in the fold behind one of the hind coxae of 

 the cicindelid. But one egg is laid on each larva though the 

 latter may vary greatly in size. The cylindrical egg is nearly 

 straight, about five times as wide as long and shining transparent 

 whitish. None hatched though this may well be due to the un- 

 natural conditions to which they were exposed. The victims, in 

 some cases stung so that they soon died and decomposed, in others 

 were nearly as active as normal larvae. One of the Methoca was 

 found decapitated a day or two after being placed in the jar. It 

 may be well to remark that the head is very strongly attached to 

 the thorax and indeed the whole insect is well fitted to pursue its 

 apparently dangerous vocation. Adlerz has called attention to 

 the shape of the metathorax which, approximately at its middle 

 length is furrowed transversely, a place where the jaws of the cicin- 

 delid may seize her. 



The male of Methoca seems to be much rarer than the female and 

 is probably a visitor at flowers. 



The Thynnids of Australia are often of striking appearance — a 

 female loaned me from that region is nearly an inch long and 

 irridescent purple and bluish. 



