122 



Abispa australiana .Mitchell 1838. 



^^{Abispa australis Smith). 



Cat. Hyin. Brit. Mns. 5:42. 1857. 

 lliese notes were based upon material kindly placed at my 

 disposal for stndy in the Qneensland Mnsoum in 1915. 



10. Xksodv.xkkts IviDoLi'iii ( 1 )alla Torre). 



On one of the enter ridges of the Waianae Monntains at 

 iui elevation of abont a thonsand feet are some exposed bonl- 

 ders. On a i)rotected side of one of these, beneath which a 

 projection made a snitable place for them were fonnd on Jnne 

 15, 1918, some mnd nests of Sceliphron crmciitarius. some of 

 the cells having in them pnpae or tenerons adnlts. From others 

 they had emerged and these were being ntilized by Odyneri for 

 their nesting places. One female Nesodij)ienis Rudolph i was 

 laken within one of the cells, while others contained lepidopter- 

 ons larvae bronght there by the wasps. Two contained Ody- 

 iicrus larvae, one fnll fed and in the t)ther were caterpilhirs 

 as well. One contained a single egg, elliptical in ontline abont 

 twice as long as broad and snspended by a thread not (piite 

 as long as the egg itself. These were bronght in for stndy. 



Tlie caterpillars nsed for larval food were all those of 

 Aniorhin emigmtcUa Bnsck which I fonnd later feeding be- 

 neath a web on the flower shoots of Dracaena. The ninnber 

 employed conld not well be made ont on acconnt of the break- 

 age of the cells when they were removed from the rock. ])rob- 

 ably six or eight, however, were reqnired for a single cell. 

 Each cell of the Scelipliron was divided by an earthen ])arti- 

 tion and served for two cells of the Odyncriis. 



The larva which was still feeding, dnring the day and night 

 since being bronght in, had eaten all it cared for of two cater- 

 pillars. It sinks its head into the body of the caterpillars in 

 front of the prologs and feeds voracionsly like a caterpillai- 

 n])on the substance of the caterpillar within the skin, its man- 

 (libles Ix'ing in constant motion. Two of these larvae were 

 (•om])lef('ly devoured and the third was half eaten. 



