Field Studies of the Non-Social Wasps 451 
Fabre reaches these sweeping conclusions from ex- 
periments upon one insect. How does he know that the 
wasp ‘‘judged the nest was sufficiently filled, and con- 
scientiously’’ closed it containing nothing at all? The 
following data will show that when a larger number are 
studied it is evident that a great deal of individuality 
is manifested in the behavior of these mothers. In a 
multitude of witnesses there is strength; it is unfortu- 
nate that Fabre did not make tests on a larger number 
of his wasps. I believe that stupidity exists among 
Wasps, and perhaps Fabre was unfortunate in catching 
one that required twenty trials before she learned the 
futility of her labor. Had he experimented on a larger 
number, we might have been able to draw valuable com- 
parisons of the habits of similar insects on the two sides 
of the Atlantic. In the light of our present knowledge, 
however, my contention is that it was not a question of 
instinct that caused this creature to bring in mud when 
she thought the nest was sufficiently filled, but that with 
twenty trials the wasp at last discovered the futility of 
her work, was alarmed and dissatisfied with this cell 
because it was disturbed or somehow ‘‘hoodooed’’ and 
sealed it perhaps in a feeble effort to shut out the mys- 
terious intruder. As the reader reflects over the ex- 
periments, he will probably conclude that possibly the 
French mud-daubers are not so stupid as Fabre would 
have us believe, and likewise perhaps the American mud- 
dauber is not wholly the last word in wasp wisdom. 
EiXPERIMENTS. 
Exp. I. A new Sceliphron caementarium cell was 
found already one-fourth filled with spiders. When an 
opportunity occurred, I slyly filled it high with spiders 
from another nest. The mother wasp returned with a 
