326 WASP STUDIES AFIELD 



light, moving in unison as if they were invisibly united. 

 The wasp flew hither and thither in an evasive way in the 

 region of her nest for fully twenty minutes before finally 

 entering her hole. We have never seen another of these 

 wasps experience such difficulty in locating her nest; can it 

 be that this one spent this time and effort flying to and fro 

 in an effort to evade her pursuer ? 



. We have never witnessed the attack of the wasp upon the 

 caterpillar, but, as Iseley says, they are stung and paralyzed. 

 They keep fresh, plump and green, and usually respond to 

 stimulus, writhe and void excrement for from three clays 

 to a week after their entombment; and we have had some 

 which continued to live and remain plump for two or three 

 weeks or even more. Following are some typical records 

 which show the longevity of the prey (all caterpillars mov- 

 ing actively about when taken from the nest) : 



Nest A. i died after 8 days 6 Nest D. i died after 25 days 



3 died after 15 days i died after 27 days 



i died after 25 days Nest E. i died after 6 days 



Nest B. i died after 12 days i died after 8 days 



i died after 14 days i died after 14 days 



i died after 19 days Nest F. i died after 3 days 



1 died after 20 days i died after 5 days 

 Nest C. i died after 3 days i died after 6 days 



2 died after 6 days i died after 9 days 

 2 died after 9 clays i died after 12 days 

 2 died after 10 days i died after 15 days 

 i died after 14 days i died after 18 days 

 i died after 22 days 



i died after 26 days 

 i died after 29 days 



6 The number of days after the nests were exhumed. Of course the 

 number of days since their capture somewhat exceeds this. 



