%20 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIV. 



at 11,000 feet. I tried hard to find its nest, but without success, I think 

 possibly they breed in July. 



Another bird, the distribution of -which has been incorrectly entered in 

 Gates, is Mandelli's Spotted Babbler {Pellorneum mandelUi). Gates says it is 

 found in the lower hills of Nepal and Sikhim ; the Bhutan and Buxa 

 doars,&c. 



I found this bird throughout the lower hills and valleys up to about 2,500 

 feet elevation as far west as the Jumna ; it is quite common in Dehra Dun. 



B. B. OSMASTGN. 

 Darjeeling, %th December, 1902, 



No. X.— SOME OBSERVATIONS ON EUMENES DIMIDIATIPENNIS. 



The following observations were made at Shaikh Budia, a small Hill Station 

 in the Derajat District of the Punjab, The hill is bare and rocky, 4,500 feet 

 high, and stands by itself in the midst of a sandy wilderness. The only 

 water in the place is rain water collected in tanks. The month of May had 

 been dry, and not a flower nor a blade of grass was to be seen. Animals of 

 all kinds were scarce, save Eumenes dimidiatipennis , which was plentiful. I 

 only saw one Palistes hebraeus and one Vespa orientalis. 



Eumenes diiiildiatipennis is a Solitary Wasp which occurs in India, spreading 

 thence into Arabia and Africa. It is reddish-brown, with the hind half of 

 the abdomen black. The jaws are long and strong. It has a slender and 

 very long waist. The propodeal area is grooved lengthwise. The two fore- 

 legs are much smaller than the others, and are much used for working, some- 

 what like hands ; they are tucked up under the breast when standing. The 

 female is 25 mm. long, with a stout abdomen ; when she has newly emerged 

 the clypeus is brown, and it remains brown afterwards ; the mesonotum is 

 at first black, but seems to become brown afterwards ; the tips of the 

 antennas are hooked. The male is 23 mm. long, smaller and slighter than 

 the female ; on fresh specimens tlie clypeus is white and the mesonotum 

 black ; I did not see any males after they left the nest, and cannot say 

 whether they changed colour afterwards. 



Some rain had fallen in June ; at the beginning of July the Acacia trees 

 were covered with leaves ; a great many caterpillars were on the trees ; scores 

 of Eumenes came into my house, and began nesting. The female only works. 

 The nests are of mud, and are built on walls, rafters, boxes, doors ; but 

 always on a vertical surface. Each nest is made up of several cells. The 

 first cell is vase-like, the others are not so regular. Grains of sand are work- 

 ed into the walls. Dry earth is made use of, and is chewed with saliva ; 

 the mud sets as hard as mortar. Whilst flying to and fro a drop of saliva 

 can often be seen hanging from the mouth, and it sometimes falls on the 

 floor ; it is of a light honey colour. When the ground is wet after a shower 

 of rain, they stop, work ; and begin again after it has got dry. A pellet of 



