146 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



closed, takes great pains to kick plenty of loose sand over 

 the hole to conceal it completely. When one proceeds to 

 dig it out, one finds the sand so loosely packed in the 

 channel that it can readily be tickled out with a grassblade. 

 One mother carrying home her prey experienced some diffi- 

 culty in finding the depression where her nest was located. 



FIG. 34. The burrow of Tachysphex terminatus. Slightly enlarged. 



She laid down her Orthopteron while examining spots on the 

 ground, but would always pick it up when flying about 

 getting her bearings; this she did several times (she seemed 

 afraid to leave it lying exposed on the ground while she 

 went far away), carrying it under her abdomen and flying 

 swiftly and smoothly as though ( she were not so laden 

 and once, on the way, even engaging in a fight with a B. spin- 

 olae. At last she dropped her burden in the depression of her 

 nest, kicked out a few strokes of dirt, entered the hole and 

 dragged her hopper in after her. 



For some time we had suspected that they build more 

 than one nest in a place. We had been watching the pro- 

 gress of a certain nest for most of the day. Late in the 



