THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER. 33 



CHAPTEE II. 



THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER. ; 



Sphex ichneumonea Linn. 



PL II., fig. 4; XI., fig. 1, XII., figs. 1, 2. 



This wasp is one of our most beautiful species, its great size 

 and its brilliant color, as it flies among the flowers, serving to 

 make it well known to all observers of nature. During the later 

 part of July, all through August, and even in the early days of 

 September it is commonly found at work making or storing its 

 burrow. It is rare in our garden, however, and we thought our- 

 selves fortunate in being able to keep track of one individual 

 from the making to the closing of the nest. Although large 

 and powerful it is gracefully formed. In color it is brown, with 

 two pairs of yellow spots on the abdomen. (PI. II., fig. 4.) 



On the morning of the third of August, at a little after ten 

 o'clock, we saw one of these hunters start to dig a nest on the 

 side of a stony hill. After making some progress in the work 

 she flew off and selected a second place where she dug so per- 

 sistently that we felt confident that this was to be her final 

 resting-place, but when the hole was two and one-half inches 

 deep it, too, was deserted. Again our wasp chose a spot and 

 began to burrow. She worked very rapidly and at twenty min- 

 utes before twelve the hole was three inches deep. At high 

 noon she flew away and was gone forty minutes. The day was 

 excessively hot, about 98 Fahr., and we ourselves were only de- 

 terred from taking a noonday rest by our fixed determination 

 not to -leave the place until we had seen all that there was to be 

 seen in the manosuvres of ichneumonea. On returning she ap- 

 peared very much excited, fairly quivering with vitality as she 

 resumed her work. She came up backward carrying the earth 

 3 



