WORKERS IN CLAY 



they had dislodged two or three. Sometimes the spiders 

 were followed as they dropped, and were caught on the 

 floor, but oftener the wasp let them escape and continued 

 her search on the wall. At the moment of capture we 

 could see that -she bent her abdomen under and in- 

 flicted a sting, but although we concentrated our atten- 

 tion on the point we could not be sure as to just what 

 part was touched. It is our impression that this first 

 sting was given anywhere, at random, with the object 

 of producing a condition of temporary quiet in the 

 victim, so that the next part of the operation could be 

 carried on with deliberation. 



The second step in the procedure was commonly for 

 the wasp to alight upon some neighboring object, usu- 

 ally the branch of a bush or tree, and sting the spider 

 a second time, being evidently in no haste ; but the 

 difficulty of following her as she flew, and her habit 

 of alighting above our range of vision, made it almost 

 impossible to see just what she did. She certainly re- 

 mained on the branch for some moments, either resting 

 quietly or rolling the spider around and around, and 

 had every opportunity to sting it as carefully as she 

 wished; but we afterward found that she followed no 

 exact method, since two thirds of the spiders were 

 killed at the moment of capture, and most of the others 

 269 



