CHAPTER II 



BEHAVIOR OF WASPS BELONGING TO THE FAMILY 

 POMPILIDAE 



Pompiloides tropicus Linn. [S. A. Rohwer]. 



One mild, sunny September morning we were walking 

 across the field when we were startled to espy a telltale hole 

 in the path. It was only the beginning of a burrow, but 

 in a most hazardous situation, right in the beaten path over 

 which hundreds of workmen passed daily, and also at its 

 intersection with the wagon-road ; yet, because the spot was 

 void of vegetation and sunny, the wasp had proceeded to 

 make her nest there, as if unaware of any danger. The 

 ground was dry and hard enough almost to break a pocket- 

 knife to dig in it, while the surface had been ground by 

 the tread of many feet into deep, fine dust. The hole was 

 perhaps one-half inch deep ; the spider, occasionally twitch- 

 ing, lay only an inch away. From this it is at once apparent 

 that this wasp does not dig the hole first and then fetch her 

 prey, for this hole was only begun, and the spider, an im- 

 mature male Lycosa frondicola Em. [N. Banks], lay in 

 front of it. 



The black Pompilid, conspicuous against the grey dust, 

 with its broad orange band on the abdomen, was seen 

 hunting diligently all about the vicinity, eight or ten feet 

 away. She returned to the hole once, but we had tampered 

 with it, knocking in a lot of loose dust in trying to break 

 through the hard crust of earth for her, so she left it at 



45 



