7A 
itself firmly in its burrow with this apparatus is able to with- 
stand the strong pulls of an extra large captive. At your heavy 
tread the larva vanishes down its tunnel and may not reappear 
for many minutes. Digging up these insects is laborious; in- 
serting a straw in the burrow for the irate proprietor to grasp 
and be suddenly hauled out is feasible only in certain cases; lying 
very quietly in wait beside the hole, with an obliquely-held trowel 
just denting the soil an inch or two before the aperture, and 
pushing in this trowel with a sudden speed, thus cutting off the 
insect’s retreat when it is at the top of the burrow, was found to 
bring the best results. 
One beetle larva was placed tail-first 
into each hole in the soil in the tum- 
bler, a sprig of a weed stuck in the 
earth and daubed with honey, and fi- 
nally a larger and a smaller female 
wasp were liberated in the glass and 
the lid put on. Soon quieting down 
after liberation into the tumbler, the 
Fig. 33. Egg of M. actions of the methocas were various; 

STEN on 5th ven- they sipped up honey, rested or walked 
fae eae ee about their prison, or finally they be- 
Veg) came interested in their natural prey, 
the tiger-beetle larvae. These very 
often stopped up the burrows for a time and worked their way 
down deeper. During their long captivity (27 days) the wasps, 
naturally very shy creatures, soon became accustomed to the small 
quarters, they seldom stampeded unless unduly disturbed, and per- 
mitted the removal of the metal lid of the tumbler for their very 
close inspection. 
Since the predatory operations of these two little creatures 
were not without variation, I will recount several of the affrays 
between wasp and beetle larva. 
October 5, 3 p. m.: The bigger Methoca soon became inter- 
ested in a large larva which rested in its burrow at a distance of 
three or four millimeters below the surface of the ground, (Fig. 
32). The wasp crouching, though with her abdomen well clear 
of the ground, pushed her rapidly-vibrating antennae over the 
hole. This caused the larva to slightly raise its head and snap 
weakly, at which Methoca backed away a little but immediately 
returned to repeat the performance. The larva snapped a few 
more times. Since the conditions were unnatural, it is probable 
that the wary tiger-beetle larva was not normally excited. The 
antennae which waved and wriggled sideways over its bur- 
