1 76 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



as we watched her, she deserved our highest respect for 

 faithfulness to duty. 



Her method of digging was similar to that of P. atratum; 

 she would plunge into the hole head first, grab a lump of dirt 

 or a cinder, back out and drop her load a few inches away. 

 When the bore was about half completed, she found her 

 hopper with little difficulty, mounted it again, grasped its 

 antennae in her mandibles as usual, and away she went (fig. 

 40). 7 She did not exactly fly, but she made such rapid 

 speed that she must have aided her progress by beating her 

 wings. She left the locust about twelve inches from the 

 hole until she enlarged it. Then she returned again to her 

 prey, and, despite the fact that she was very near to it, she 

 found it with more difficulty than on the previous occasion. 

 It took her one minute to discover it, and at one time she 

 passed it when only one inch from where it lay. In the 

 usual manner, she mounted it, grasped the hopper's antennae 

 in her mouth, and dragged it to within three inches of the 

 burrow. Here she evidently decided that it was a trifle larger 

 than the hole would yet admit, so she laid it down and re- 

 moved three more mouthfuls of dirt. She then carried the 

 prey to within one inch, went into the hole once more to 

 make sure that all was ready, came out again and dumped it, 

 head-first, half-way into the opening; then she herself 

 crowded in ahead of it and dragged it in after her. She 

 remained in only one-half minute, came out and began to 

 fill in the dirt. After this, for many minutes she carried 

 large cinders and placed them over the site. The heavy cin- 

 ders were moved with the mandibles with comparative ease. 

 Sixteen minutes later she stopped piling cinders and for 

 two minutes walked and took short, low flights about 

 the nest, surveying the situation ; then she came back to the 



7 Through an error in the figure, the middle leg fails to reach the 

 ground, 



