1968] 
Steiner — Behavioral Interactions 
257 
Occasionally prey-paralyzing and digging behavior occur outside the 
nesting period. 
During the nesting season, the daily rhythm involves, in addition 
to the preceding activities, nesting activities organized into nesting 
cycle (s). Responses of crickets to wasps are basically associated with 
this nesting cycle and depend in part on certain properties of it. 
Although considerable variation in nesting cycles has been recorded 
(Steiner, 1962), the following succession of activities has been 
observed most frequently and is considered as typical and predictable. 
The variability is greatly reduced if unusual interference with activi- 
ties of the nesting w’asps is minimized or eliminated altogether. 
A simplified outline of the typical nesting cycle of Liris nigra is 
presented below. 
1. Nesting consists of burrow-digging, but more frequently the 
wasp uses pre-existent burrows and galleries in the soil, if available 
(Berland, 1925, 1929; Ferton, 1901b; Grandi, 1954; Steiner, 1957a, 
1957b, 1962). 
2. Prey capture involves prey-paralyzing (for detailed study see 
Steiner, 1958a, 1958b, 1962, 1963a, 1963b). 
3. Malaxation of cricket involves the wasp compressing (or crush- 
ing) between the mandibles the base(s) of fore leg(s) (Steiner, 
1957c, 1962). 
4. Prey-carriage. The prey is dragged over the soil; the wasp walks 
head first, grasping the antennae of the prey between the mandibles 
(Ferton, 1901b; Steiner, 1957c, 1962). 
5. Second malaxation, inside the nest (in the terminal cell). See 
above, point 3, and Steiner, 1957c, 1962. 
6. Egg laying. The wasp glues the egg across the ventral part of 
the thorax of the cricket, between the fore and middle legs (Berland, 
1925; Ferton, 1901b; Steiner, 1962). 
7. Nest closure. The wasp generally uses soil particles, small 
pebbles, etc. if pre-existent burrows in hard soil are involved; alter- 
natively, if the burrow was dug by the wasp or found in soft soil, 
the wasp scrapes in soil from the periphery of the entrance (Fabre, 
1856a; Ferton, 1901b; Berland, 1925, 1929; Steiner, 1957a, 1957b, 
1962). 
The prey-capturing phase of the typical nesting cycle is the main 
concern of this paper. 
Conditions of observation and experimentation 
Liris nigra has been raised in captivity for twelve years (between 
1952 and 1964) (Steiner, 1965). 
