OF, 
So that one is inclined to marvel at both the stupidity as well 
as the common sense of these creatures. 
Pseudagenia blanda (Guérin Méneville), 
Length 13 mm.; metallic blue; hind femora red. 
This very pretty insect is strictly a forest dweller; here she fre- 
quents the muddy paths at lower elevations, seeking with much 
fastidiousness the mud to build her stout cells. She is a shy 
wasp, as she walks about nervously here and there inspecting 
the mud. Finally arriving at a suitable spot, she bites out small 
pieces which she works up in her mouth parts to a more homo- 
geneous and fluid consistency. When a sufficiently large ball has 
been accumulated she suddenly straightens 
out, raises herself up and takes wing. 
Though her cells may be only fifteen or 
twenty feet away, it is very difficult to fol- 
low her flight. During March and Apri, 
1917, I located a few nests; the cells which 
compose them are cylindrical and rather 
thick-walled, ranged one alongside another. 
._. There may be as many as four cells to a 
Fig. 44. Ventral view i ae ; : ae ooo 
Aree re pee, nest — (Pig, at) and in each is stored a 
dagenia blanda.. Re- delegged spider on whose abdomen is 
dueed. placed the Pseudagenia egg; the latter is 
curved and measures 2.60x0.65 mm. I 
found one nest in a fissure in a stout vine and several at the base 
of large trees, and as they were roughly plastered over with mud, 
they blended well with their surroundings. 
I once saw this or an allied species hunting her prey. She ran 
swiftly, and with the abdomen curved forward beneath her, 
along tree trunks, inspecting her path with her antennae. This 
peculiar hunting posture might lead one to suppose that the par- 
ticular spider which forms her prey is likely to pounce upon her 
and so Pseudagenia has need of her sting well to the front. 
Pseudagenia makilingi is likewise a forest insect; she lacks the 
purple effulgence of blanda and has no red on the legs. She 
fashions a two-celled mud nest, which she hides in a curled-up 
leaf, etc. 

Pseudagenia nyemitawa Rohwer. 
Length 12 mm.; metallic blue. 
This very agile and handsome wasp, though closely related to 
the forest-dwelling P. blanda, builds a very different sort of 
