314 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



When we discovered this wasp at work at 8 : 50 on the 

 morning of July 31, her hole was already begun and about 

 one-half the length of her body in depth. She would stand 

 on her head in the hole and bite out a little clod, at the 

 same time turning around, screw-like, about one-quarter 

 or one-half a revolution, in order to work from all direc- 

 tions alike. Then she would back out of the hole with her 

 round, well-formed pellet of mud in her mandibles, always 

 fly from two to fifteen inches with it, and drop it. These 

 mud-balls were fairly uniform in size, and round not mere 

 clods of dirt bitten out. (See the pellets strewn about in 



%. 58). 



After working thus for about ten minutes, she went away, 

 probably for a fresh supply of water. We waited so long 

 for her return that we began to think that she had aban- 

 doned the enterprise; but, after fifteen minutes, she reap- 

 peared and began her work afresh. She worked almost 

 incessantly, and took out 15 pellets in 8 minutes. When 

 she emerged from the hole with the last pellet and flew 

 away a few inches to drop it, she did not return immediately 

 to continue her burrowing, but continued her flight at a 

 high speed and in a direct line toward the northwest. She 

 was gone from our sight just one and a half minutes, when 

 we saw her returning, straight from the same direction. 

 Iseley 3 says that when they return from their watering- 

 places he can see their mouth-parts glistening; we were un- 

 able to see so much, but she resumed her work as before, so 

 we suppose she carried the water in her gullet. This time she 

 worked 8 minutes, the same as before, and in that period 

 took out 12 pellets; upon emerging to cast away the last 

 she flew straight and swiftly off to the northwest, just as 

 before, and returned in ij4 minutes. Thus she seemed 

 to work with pretty precision and accuracy, yet we doubt 

 3 Kan. Univ. Sci. Bull. 8: 287. 1913. 



