2 3 o WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



still clinging to her treasure. Several times we thus lifted 

 the caterpillar and the clinging wasp into mid-air, and each 

 time she felt herself once more on firm earth she again 

 dragged her prey over to the brink of her hole. On another 

 sunny September morning the feminine partner in these 

 observations was sitting upon the ground, busily writing 

 up the notes of the morning's observations, when an Ammo- 

 phila came and began industriously digging a burrow right 

 beside her knee, while another, homeward bound with its 

 prey, climbed up on her dress and trundled its caterpillar 

 down the full length of her bare forearm, pausing once and 

 laying the cut-worm down on her hand while it washed its 

 face and looked about inquiringly, then moving calmly on to 

 the burrow beyond. 



Finally one day we went so far as to take the caterpillar 

 away from a wasp and place it in the hollow of the hand, 

 flat on the ground, perhaps eight inches away from her. 

 The wasp came without hesitation and got it; in fact, she 

 betrayed less nervousness than we, for she seemed to fear 

 nothing, while we remembered very vividly how wasps 

 often re-sting caterpillars which misbehave, and feared that 

 her aim might not always be accurate. 



Later, we removed the caterpillar from the mouth of an- 

 other wasp, placed it in the bottom of a two-inch vial and 

 laid it flat upon the ground. The wasp soon found it, flew 

 in circles just above the vial and finally rested on top of it 

 for a time, then again flew above it in circles. It was evident 

 that she saw her property, but either she did not find the 

 opening, or feared to go so far into a mysterious place for 

 her prey. We then placed her caterpillar in the neck of the 

 vial, whereupon she promptly went into* the bottle, turned 

 around to get her customary grip upon the caterpillar, and 

 happily trundled it off homeward. After she had gone 

 some distance we again robbed her and placed her treasure 



