CHAPTER VII 

 SOME WASPS THAT PREY UPON BEETLES 



Cerceris fumipennis Say [S. A. Rohwer]. 



A Cerceris fumipennis at Lake View, Kansas, had chosen 

 a hard-packed highway for her nesting-site. The hole went 

 straight down for about two inches and then turned at an 

 angle. How far it continued we do not know, for the road 

 was so hard that a trowel could not pierce it. There was a 

 quantity of loose soil about the opening (fig. 31). The wasp 

 was evidently digging the cell ; she went in to dig for a little 

 while, came out head first and dropped her load at the same 

 time turning around to go in again, and so continued. When 

 we crowded too close to see the details of her work, she 

 would pause in emerging and hold her yellow face against 

 the aperture as she solemnly eyed us for a moment, then 

 slowly retreat and cautiously remain within for a long time. 



FIG. 31. The mouth of the burrow of Cerceris fumipennis. 



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