oi'.SERX ATIONS ON THE NESTING HABITS OE 
GORYTES CANALICULATUS, PACKARD 
By Gkorgk p. Barth. 
AA/hile sojourning at Cedar Lake, Washington Co., Wiscon- 
sin, during the latter part of July of this year, my attention was 
attracted by a beautiful yellow-banded wasp busily engaged in 
])erforming its nesting labors among a large colony of 
AphUanthops frigidus, an occasional Bemhex, Cerceris, Anacra- 
bro occJlatiis, Oxyhclis. leaf cutter bees and even an Osmia. 
All lived in perfect harmony on a little hill of sand not over 
twenty feet long and six feet wide located at the edge of a gravel 
pit bordering a wide, deep, though small ravine still in pristine 
state. An immense oatfield on the other three sides made this a 
secluded corner which received the full glare and heat of the 
sun during the greater part of the day. 
It was a treat as well as a study to see the methods by which 
these bus}' workers accomplished their aim of procuring an 
abiding place wherein their young could develop undisturbed. 
Aphilanthops vigorously scratched, sending showers of sand to 
a distance of more than a foot with a rasping sound which could 
easily be heard at a distance of from ten to fifteen feet; restless 
Anacrabro diving into her burrow only to emerge again flying 
backwards to scatter broadcast a mass of sand grasped between 
her legs and body ; Bembex with her angry hum when she 
attempted to pull out a pebble too large for even her strong man- 
dibles ; Cerceris digging away at a rate which caused her fore- 
feet to resemble a blur of moving matter, while now and then 
Gorytes smoothed away her load of sand to make room for more. 
Although the primary object of my visit to this hill was to 
become acquainted with Anacrabro, I found that it was still too 
early in the season for that interesting insect, as she had not 
])egun to store her cells, and so turned my attention to the 
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