322 MK. H. L. aOTH ON THE HABITS OP 



the process. Before long she has made up a little mud- ball 

 about the size of her thorax. This she carries to the chosen site, 

 and commences work by making a little curved wall of mad as 

 the basis of the cell. She then goes back to the water and 

 commences afresh. The distance from the water to the clod 

 was about 12 yards, and from the clod to the site about 4 yards, 

 and it took her from 4 to 7 minutes to get her material, and she 

 would then work from 1 to 2| minutes. She appeared to have 

 no difficulty in finding her way between the three spots, but 

 occasionally she would try another clod ; generally, however, she 

 would come back to the original clod, which had a large and 

 conspicuous moist mark. 



[Pig. 2, A and B, drawn to scale, gives very accurately the size of 

 the cell as viewed from the side and above ; also the various layers 

 of mud as they were deposited, and which are distinctly visible 

 to the last. When the cell was ready the wasp went in search of a 

 common green caterpillar which infested all our vegetables, and 

 put three of these (each about an inch long) into the cell. 



Fig. 2. 



Nest of Eumenes Latreillii. — A, upper view ; B, side view. 



She carries these by the head, holding them with her mandibles 

 and fore legs, and allows the rest of the body of the caterpillar 

 to hang down in a line with her other long legs. She is very 

 particular in packing the caterpillars nicely round the inside of 

 the cell, and, if dissatisfied with her arrangements, she will occa- 

 sionally take one out and adjust it afresh. When this is done to 

 her entire satisfaction, she deposits one oblong light yellow semi- 

 transparent egg, which is always hung by a light silken thread 

 from the uppermost inside surface of a cell, whatever maybe the 

 cell's position. This done, she closes up the orifice with the usual 

 mud, and commences a fresh cell by the side of the completed 

 one. She continues thus daily building the cells, side by side, 

 until she has completed about seven or eight, all in one straight 

 row. She then constructs three or four, side by side, on the top 

 of the first row ; and, these being finished, she daubs the whole 



