SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS 



came, while we sat watching close by, admiring her deft 

 handiwork in opening and closing the nest and wonder- 

 ing at the ease with which she found it at each return. 

 There was nothing tiresome or dilatory about this 

 species, and within twenty minutes we had seen six flies 

 stored up. The nest was closed and the place smoothed 

 over every time before she went away, but when she 

 entered she left the door open behind her. We once tried 

 to make her drop the fly, but when disturbed she flew up 

 and alighted on a plant near by, keeping her hold on 

 it. The whole performance was brisk and business- 

 like, but without the feverish hurry of Ammophila and 

 Pompilus. 



After the sixth fly was taken in we were afraid to let 

 her go again, thinking that the nest must now be com- 

 pletely provisioned, and that she would not return. She 

 was such a charming little wasp, scarcely bigger than a 

 fly herself and yet so useful in her industry, that we 

 hated to disturb her ; but as we were obliged to have her 

 for identification we first caught her, and then opened 

 the nest. It contained only the flies that we had seen 

 taken in, the egg being attached to the one lowest down, 

 on the left side, between the head and the thorax. It was 

 long and cylindrical. The flies were dead, but showed 

 no marks of violence. We learned later that it takes 

 77 



