THE SAND-LOVING AMMOPHILA 229 



before she would use it. As time passed by, her journeys 

 away from the original point became longer. A thunder- 

 storm was approaching, but neither the dark clouds nor the 

 first pattering drops of rain drove her to desist. This wan- 

 dering and vain search had continued relentlessly for over 

 two hours under the August sun and the dark clouds ; and 

 we wonder how much longer she would have continued it, 

 had not a horde of romping boys passed by and frightened 

 her away. 



Thus she apparently accepted this proffered caterpillar 

 and treated it as her own. The stinging certainly could not 

 have been done with more precision. The malaxation is 

 said to be a regular part of Ammophila' s treatment of her 

 prey, and occasionally, if a victim does not seem wholly 

 and completely submissive, she will pause in her journey 

 and administer some more pinching, kneading and shaking. 



Again and again we have been astonished at the remark- 

 able tameness of Ammophila when building, provisioning 

 or closing her nest. This cannot be attributed, as we thought 

 at one time, to defective eye-sight, for when she is alone, 

 without a caterpillar or a nest to detain her, she is very 

 evasive, and usually many attempts to approach her are 

 futile. But when her interest is absorbed in home duties, 

 she seems self -forgetful and one can usually approach very 

 near to her without her giving heed. On several occasions, 

 when a wasp was in difficulties in moving her caterpillar, 

 we assisted her with her burden with our forceps, and 

 she seemed to take it all as a matter of course, as if we were 

 friendly collaborators. Once, in order to see how she would 

 respond to teasing, we took hold of a caterpillar which an 

 Ammophila was bringing to her hole. She would not re- 

 linquish her hold, but gripped the other end, braced herself 

 with spread legs and pulled with all her might. A tiny 

 "tug-o'-war" ensued, until we lifted her clear off the ground, 



