1808 The Zoologist — August, 1869. 



morning is the best time to see them, as, if tie wires afterwards become hot in the 

 December sun, the Ascalaphi scon disappear; ihey are also quite motionless in this 

 singular position, but apparently on the watch, as they can mostly, though not always 

 be taken by a guarded motion of finger and thumb. 



" Mason Wasps. — In the month of December I took my usual annual walk to a 

 celebrated insect locality in the Mount Lofty range of hills N.E. of Adelaide, about 



six miles up a gully called Stewart's Gully ' Whiz' came by a wasp with 



purple and yellow body [specimen enclosed ; pronounced by Mr. Frederick Smith to be 

 Paragia tricolor]. It hovered over the ground for a few minutes, and then went 

 prone to earth and disappeared ; on looking about I found a little chimney made of 

 earth, down which the wasp had evidenily gone: this structure was about half an inch 

 in height and one-third of an inch in the diameter of its opening at the top, straij-ht 

 down the sides, and placed over a hole of the same size. With slight pressure, and 

 without breaking it, I removed the chimney; and then its use became ai)paient, for, 

 moved by the " gully breezes," little stones and bits of leaf came rolling down the 

 incline, and several tumbled into the unprotected hole. I watched for a few minutes, 

 but the tenant did not come out; and as I turned away, up flew another wasp of the 

 same species, and at once went down another chimney but a few feet off, and which, 

 from its similarity to the earth and stones around, I only discovered by this means. 

 Presently a louder whizzing noise, and swiftly came two more wasps together: one 

 of these seemed frightened and flew off for a lime, but the other made great sweeps to 

 and fro ; I observed the object aimed at, and quickly removed the little structure 

 before the builder in one of its curves came round again, — then, without hesitation, 

 pausing, or being puzzled, it went directly down the uncovered hole, I must say much 

 to my sur|)iise. I likewise look the chimney of a fiflh wasp (which came soon after- 

 wards), after it had gone below. These little buildings were all removed entire, but 

 easily broke afterwards, having no hold on anything and the sides being very thin ; 

 meantime the first seen wasp hud emerged from its cell, as it now returned and went 

 below a second time. I did not observe that any of these (I concluded all to be 

 females) carried any caterpillars or other food to their young (if any) in these subter- 

 ranean dwellings, — perhaps the epgs were not laid or the young yet emerged : all 

 these five domiciles were within a few feet of each other, and full six feet from the last 

 was a sixth chimney, but the owner was not visible. These insects can, therefore, 

 hardly be called gregarious, but had (as in the case of the holes made by the females 

 of several of our Miitillida;) merely placed their dwellings thus contiguous, the situ- 

 ation being most suitable, and perhaps from a little desire for companionship: these 

 holes might also serve in future se.isuns for the young broods, and increase in 

 numbers." 



Papers read. 



The following papers were read : — 



" Notes on Eastern Butterflies" (continuation); by Mr. Alfred R. Wallace. 



" On the Australian Species of Tetracha ; " by Mr. Edwin Brown. 



Ntw Part of* Transactions.' 



Part 3 of the " Transactions for 1869," containing tlie conclusion of Dr. Sharp's 

 Revision of the British Species of Homalota, published in .fune, was on the table. 



