82 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



On August 19, at 4:30 p. m., one was discovered drag- 

 ging a large Lycosid spider by one mandible, walking back- 

 wards with a jerky motion, travelling without much diffi- 

 culty over the long, fallen blue-grass in the front yard. She 

 carried the spider right-side-up and brought it about fifty 

 feet after being discovered. Twice in that time she left it 

 and took a quick, circling flight, as if exploring, over to the 

 old log smoke-house with plaster-chinked crevices ; then she 

 returned, without difficulty, to her spider and continued her 

 course very directly, as if she knew precisely what she was 

 about. When finally she got it to the bald area a few feet 

 in front of the smoke-house she paused, left it again and 

 flew to the wall, alighted on it and took a quick, surveying 

 gallop over the two lower logs and their interstices; then 

 went right back and got the spider, took it hastily over to 

 the wall and hid it deep in a crevice in the foundation. She 

 then took on a very nervous attitude, running and flying 

 all over the two walls, examining nooks and crannies every- 

 where, with wings and antennae nervously vibrating; 

 finally she sat down for five minutes' rest and "medita- 

 tion," then resumed the chase and search. We cannot be- 

 lieve that the wasp travelled from the spider to the smoke- 

 house so often to see if the smoke-house was still extant, 

 but we think perhaps that was her way of ascertaining 

 whether she was travelling in the right direction; she knew 

 where she wanted to go, and retraced her steps often to see 

 that she was going there. 



Presently the wasp disappeared in one of the crannies. 

 Meanwhile the spider was examined. It was limp, but re- 

 sponded to stimulation by slight movements of the legs, 

 although it was so completely paralyzed as to be almost 

 dead. 



After a half -hour in hiding, the wasp again apppeared 

 and made her way to the spider and rested in the crevice 



