398 Miscellaneous. 



frequently in Oregon or the British possessions. Had it been com- 

 mon, I should have seen it in the southern part of the State of 

 California." T. Bridges— Proc. Zool. Soc. Jan. 12, 1858. 



Some Observations on the mode of life of a Fossorial Hymenopterous 

 Insect, Cerceris arenarius. By INI. H. Lucas. 



The mode of life of several species of the genus Cerceris has already 

 been made known ; but I am not aware that the observations which 

 I was enabled to make last summer upon the Cerceris arenarius, Fab., 

 have yet been signalized by authors. On the 1 6th July of last year, 

 during very hot and stormy weather, I was at Fontenay-aux-Roses, 

 upon a rocky soil, completely exposed to the south. Upon this 

 ground, covered with a thick layer of fine sand, I observed, in a very 

 circumscribed space, twelve or fifteen cylindrical holes, the margins 

 of which were covered with fresh debris, newly moved, and composed 

 of earth, sand, and plaster ; above and in the vicinity of these bur- 

 rows, of which the depth was nearly three centimetres, hovered some 

 Hymenopterous insects, which I recognized as belonging to the genus 

 Cerceris, and as being the C. arenarius, Fab. Curious to ascertain 

 the proceedings of these industrious insects, I set myself to ob- 

 serve them, and the following are the results to which this study 

 led me. 



In the vicinity of these nests, which there is nothing to protect, 

 I observed individuals of Cerceris flying about over the habitations, 

 but did not notice any one that ventured to penetrate into them. 

 These individuals, which I ascertained to be males, placed themselves 

 quite close to the aperture of these dwellings, and waited patiently 

 until their inhabitants issued from them. I also noticed that some 

 of these subterranean conduits were occupied by their inhabitants, 

 for from time to time I saw a Cerceris arenarius come to the open- 

 ing, push away the debris, which might have inconvenienced it, with 

 its broad head, protrude a portion of its thorax, survey the neigh- 

 bourhood, and agitate its antennse in all directions. 



This manoeuvre was continued for a considerable time, and during 

 the agitation into which the inhabitants of these retreats threw them- 

 selves, the male held himself in observation, and appeared to be watch- 

 ing the issue of these insects. In fact, as soon as they quitted their 

 abodes, they were pursued by the males, and both were lost in the 

 distance. Not understanding the movements of the males, I took 

 some individuals in their nests, and found that the true proprietors of 

 these burrows were females. 



Frequently I saw females flying over the holes, and whilst they 

 were in search of their own habitations, the males threw themselves 

 upon them ; but the females, not yielding to their solicitations, got 

 rid of them by pushing them away with their hind-feet, and threw 

 them on the sand, where they fell more or less stupefied. 



I also observed that the females, on returning to their habitations, 

 held under their sternum, by means of their feet, some bodies 

 of considerable size, which they buried with great precipitation in 



