The Ecology of a Sheltered Clay Bank 191 
The stick-bug, Emesa brevipennis Say [W. L. Me- 
Atee]. 
Another insect which should be classified as a pio- 
neer in the unit, even though it makes no nest, is the 
stick-bug, Emesa brevipennis. It spent its whole life 
among the rubbish, boards, ete. piled on top of the 
bank. The nymphs were seen as early as July 16, and 
the adults as late as October 12. During their im- 
mature stages they were inconspicuous, hence not fre- 
quently noticed, but when full grown and more easily 
noticeable, they were observed in great numbers. Since 
they are carnivorous in habit, they were probably very 
directly responsible for some changes in the popula- 
tion of the unit. While I have never chanced to see 
them actually prey upon the inhabitants of the bank, 
I have seen them feeding upon insects which had 
been visiting the bank for shelter. One was imbibing 
the juices of an adult moth, Pyralis cuprealis Hubn. (H. 
G. Dyar); another was seen to hold an immature (sec- 
ond stage) short-horned locust in the fore-legs, mantis- 
fashion, and, with its beak inserted, imbibe its juices 
for a whole day. Whether they actually captured sleepy 
bees and wasps, I cannot say. 
‘Ants. Crematogaster lineolata Say [W. M. Wheeler]. 
A crack in the porch post was the home of a large 
colony of these ants. Its part in the game of give and 
take being played on this scene was to supply food to 
the ant-lion larvae, whose pits were in the dust at the 
base of the bank. The spider, Habrocestum pulex, and 
also an unidentified ant-mimicking spider were observed 
feeding upon them. These ants often covered up the 
cracks in their posts with a gummy secretion. On Au- 
