428 
Psyche 
[December 
of the main burrow (Fig. 4), an architecture similar to that of S. 
teliferopodus (Rayment, 1955b). 
Unlike S. viridis , females of S. relucens were observed to return 
to the nests with prey throughout the day, a behavior similiar to the 
daytime hunting reported for S. sydneyi and S. victoriensis (Ray- 
ment, 1955a, b). The wasps’ flight is silent, and upon returning 
they plunge quickly and without hesitation into their open nest 
entrances. The sample of prey removed from the eight excavated 
cells included 13 species belonging to four families (see Table 1), 
a much broader range than that taken by S. viridis. The strongest 
preference appeared to be shown for the sarcophagid, Tayorimyia 
iota (Johnston and Tiegs), which comprised 7 of the 10 flies in the 
Pine Island Reserve nest, and 5 of the 18 flies from the Peak Hill 
nests. Interestingly, two individuals of Calliphora tibialis (the major 
prey of S. viridis) were found in one nest from the Peak Hill 
colony* 
In contrast to the all male prey taken by S. viridis (and indeed 
the prey of all the species studied by Rayment), S. relucens prey 
samples included a small proportion of female flies (5 of 18 from 
Peak Hill, 3 of 10 from Pine Island Reserve; all 5 from Mackay 
were males). However, none of these females belonged to the 
Calliphoridae, although calliphorids comprised 1/3 of the total 
prey sample. Certainly the matter of prey selection by Sericophorus 
is worthy of further investigation, particularly as it is related to 
time of hunting and the reproductive characteristics of the preferred 
prey. 
The flies are strung out in a row in the cell, head in first and 
usually venter up. Three cells which were apparently complete (i.e., 
situated at the ends of filled lateral tunnels), were accidentally 
broken into during excavations, but no eggs or larvae were sub- 
sequently recovered. Nevertheless, the number of prey in these 
cells (6, 7 and 7) is probably representative of the normal prey 
complement per cell for S. relucens. 
Natural Enemies. — No parasites were recovered from the nests, 
but the mutillid Ephutomorpha mackay ensis Andre, was common 
at the Peak Hill site, and one female was observed walking around 
the entrance of one of the Sericophorus nests (AM 114). 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
We are deeply indebted to the Division of Entomology, CSIRO, 
Canberra, for use of their facilities during the period of study. The 
flies were identified by K. R. Norris (Calliphoridae) and D. H. 
