30 



Sceliphron. A few facts concerning the habits of some liv- 

 ing in a certain old house will give a little idea of the char- 

 acteristics of all solitary wasps. 



There were two nests under way, about six feet apart, — 

 one in the very apex of the roof and the other on the side 

 of a beam. They were evidently commenced at about the 

 same time, but there was a vast difference in the methods 

 and workmanship of the two wasps. One was exceedingly 

 nervous, always flirting her wings and working with fever- 

 ish haste; the other was quiet, painstaking and methodical 

 with the result that her nest was far superior to that of the 

 first in finish even though it answered its purpose no bet- 

 ter. 



The mud of which the nests were made was brought 

 from the barnyard, a plentiful supply always being avail- 

 able near the old pump. Entrance to the old attic was 

 through a broken corner in one of the window panes. 



These nests usually consist of several cells, but one of 

 which is built at a time. The rapid worker had one of her 

 cells shaped before night on the first day; while no meas- 

 urements were taken I should say that it might have been 

 three-quarters of an inch diameter on the inside and per- 

 haps an inch deep. Early the next morning a spider was 

 found neatly tucked in one corner and, as I watched, the 

 worker came buzzing in through the window carrying an- 

 other. It was quite a large black spider, weighing fully as 

 much as the wasp but it was carried without much effort, 

 being closely held up against her body by the middle and 

 last pair of legs. This was tucked in beside the first and, 

 a little later, another one was brought, the purpose for 

 which will be seen later. The three spiders completely 

 filled the cell; in about an hour she had it completely seal- 

 ed over with mud. Without stopping to rest she at once 

 commenced journeying back and forth between the barn- 

 yard and the attic carrying material for another cell to 

 be built beside the first. In five days she had four of these 

 little sealed mud nests completed. 



The other wasp, the careful worker, only liad two of her 



