HUNTERS OF SMALL ORTHOPTERA 149 



The hoppers, as a rule, survive the maltreatment of the 

 wasp only feebly. Many of them, the majority of the small 

 ones, are killed outright, while only the most vigorous sur- 

 vive a day or so, and they can respond but very feebly to 

 stimulation. 



Ashmead, treating of this species under the name of 

 Larra terminata, finds that they prey upon Chortophaga viri- 

 difasciata; Williams took one of these wasps with a young 

 Tryxalid. Banks finds they frequent the flowers of Ceano- 

 thus. 



Tachysphex fuscus Fox [S. A. Rohwer]. 



It was late in the season for wasps to be active, yet this 

 little grey T. fuscus was very busy on this morning of 

 September 30. She flew to an abandoned building and 

 alighted in the mortar between the rocks of the foundation. 

 She had previously commenced her hole there; now she 

 vigorously kicked back the loose mortar and it fell to the 

 earth below. After about five minutes of this arduous work, 

 she walked a few feet away and cleaned herself. Then she 

 turned to another spot on the ledge of the foundation and 

 began to dig in the loose soil lodged on this, kicking the fine 

 earth backwards under her body, as she had done in the other 

 instance. One large lump of something impeded her pro- 

 gress, so she snatched it up bodily, carried it some distance 

 in her mandibles and threw it away; she then flew a few 

 feet, sat dawn and cleaned herself again and presently 

 started to dig anew, in the third place. After only a few 

 seconds here, she moved again and commenced a fourth 

 hole. It seemed that she could succeed in digging into only 

 the stratum of loose dirt, and when she struck the hard 



