SPIDERS AND WASPS. 83 



victorious party returns to the spider, which is heavier 

 than herself, and proceeds to drag it to her nest. She 

 runs backward for a time, dragging it over the ground ; 

 then tries flying a short distance, but the burden is so 

 heavy that she soon comes to the ground again. She 

 is so active and quick in her movements that I am 



THE DIGGER-WASP, COCOON, AND LARVA. 



obliged to walk quite fast to keep even with her. She 

 carries the spider several rods from where she obtained 

 it, lays it down on a gravelled walk, and hunts over the 

 ground. She soon finds the burrow which she has pre- 

 viously dug, returns to the spider, seizes it, and disap- 

 pears within. She comes out empty-handed, and pro- 

 ceeds to fill up the hole with the earth which she has 

 thrown out. She works so rapidly that I can scarcely 



