70 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



came in contact with the rough bark; then she continued 

 backing up until soon she had all six of her legs in action. 

 Just as she reached the top with her heavy burden, however, 

 she grasped a fallen leaf which lay loosely upon the log, 

 and leaf, wasp and spider rolled to the ground. Finding 

 her lost prey after a few seconds' search, the wasp resumed 

 her travels in another direction, this time up a steep hill- 

 side. She resorted to no diagonal inclines, but pluckily 

 struggled straight up the steep slope, pausing only once, 

 for a few minutes' rest, when half-way up the hill. Pres- 

 ently she slipped and fell and rolled part way down the hill. 

 This seemed to discourage her a little, and she left her prey 

 and strolled a dozen inches away, then back to it thought- 

 fully, and settled down to spend the next ten minutes in 

 resting, toilet-making and short, jerky walks. 



At last she resumed her wanderings, carrying the spider 

 still further up the hill, and reached an area blackened by 

 a recent fire, where there was no green vegetation and the 

 ground was literally full of the holes and tunnels of rodents. 

 But nothing here seemed to appeal to her, and again she 

 took up her burden and went down the hill beyond, for ten 

 feet, and then up the next hillock, always walking back- 

 wards and holding the spider by its head. About this time 

 she dropped her spider two or three times and made short 

 side-trips, looking over the vicinity, returning to it as though 

 to continue the trip. Suddenly and without warning she 

 disappeared with her prey into a rodent hole. We watched 

 and waited long, and wasted much effort in digging up the 

 tunnels and a considerable portion of the surrounding coun- 

 try, but could discover her no more. 



Over the very roughest country this wasp had dragged 

 her burden for a hundred yards. Since she seemed to have 

 an especial liking for rodent holes, one wonders why she 

 did not use for her nesting-place the first tunnel wherein 



