CRABRO 



the other is calm, quiet, and stately in all that she 



Some ten feet away was a second stirpicola, and this 

 one, to judge from the depth to which she 

 had penetrated, must have been at work for 

 about two hours. We watched them both, 

 and saw them bring up load after load of 

 pith. They bit out the pellets with their 

 mandibles, and passed them back between 

 the legs and under the body until a quantity 

 had accumulated above the tip of the abdo- 

 men. They then walked backward up the 

 stem, and thus pushed out the mass as they 

 came to the top. Often they used the hind 

 legs to assist in getting it out of the way, 

 sometimes kicking it to a little distance. Once 

 in every two or three trips they would come 

 out far enough to expose part of the thorax. 

 They appeared and disappeared with the 

 regularity of a machine, never stopping to 

 rest. 



We remained with them until seven o'clock, 

 when we placed a long bottle over each stem 

 in such a way that while it did not interfere with the 

 work of the wasp, it caught the chips of pith as they 



107 



BOTTLE ON 

 STEM TO 

 MEASURE 

 WORK OF 

 CRABRO 



