92 
ing days and 9 days in cocoon; pupal stage, 24 days. Total, 42 
days. 
M. violacea as observed by Dutt in India was: Egg, 2 days; 
larva (including resting stage), 10-11 days; pupal stage, 14 days. 
Total, 26-27 days 
There are many details in the life history of this handsome 
wasp that remain to be worked out. 
Paragenia argentifrons Smith. 
Length of body, 17 mm. ; grey-black, wings transparent, legs long. 
The life of this rather widespread Oriental insect is a most 
interesting one, for, like its large relative Macromeris, it 1s fond 
of company and, moreover, is a wasp whose domestic activities 
are often easy to observe. Its favorite nesting place is the 
hollow of a bamboo, whether it be a split stump, fence-post or 
beam, whose aperture does not permit too much daylight to enter 
and isso inclined as to exclude the ram. It seems to, prefereto 
work in the shaded bamboo groves and indeed is not averse to 
carrying on its building operations during a light rain or, if needs 
be, when the stin is on. the point of setting. Although more 
sociable than Macromeris, it is not so aggressive, while in the 
work about the domicile (Fig. 43) it often appears like a case of 
“too many cooks spoil the broth,” since the wasps do not always 
mind each other’s affairs, but, wishing to contribute, interfere. 
Nevertheless, the little group of Paragenia wasps presents a 
peaceful aspect ; in my many observations I have never seen what 
must be the aggravating conduct of one wasp resented by another. 
It is but fair to state, however, that some of these insects may 
bear permanent evidence of rough treatment, in the form of 
broken antennae or dislocated legs. There seems to be a sort of 
password system ina nest—often when a female wasp enters the 
hollow she is challenged by a female within, which makes a 
short dash at the new arrival and, giving her a brief facial in- 
spection at very close quarters, engages her no further. Every- 
thing proceeds quietly. More timid males frequently hang about 
the entrance, while a confident one feels quite at home within. 
Several nests, all in split or cut bamboo, were located, but a 
large one, first observed on July 10, 1917, proved very easy of 
access and furnished the bulk of my notes on Paragenia. It was 
situated in a node of a bamboo stump in a grove growing by the 
side of a stream. This stump, some three feet tall and three 
and a half inches in diameter and composed of three or four 
nodes, had been cleft longitudinally so that a slab about one- 
