58 
Psyche 
[September 
the end of the period of observation, I doubt if the number of cells 
per nest is normally more than two or three. 
Nests dug out when the female was not provisioning were invariably 
found to have two closures, one at the entrance and one just outside 
the cell, with the female remaining just outside the inner closure. 
During provisioning, and also when the female is out taking nectar 
from flowers, the outer closure is not maintained, though the inner 
closure is normally maintained if the cell contains an egg or small 
larva. 
Provisioning. — All provisioning occurred in the late afternoon and 
early evening, as in the Texas colony. During the period of observa- 
tion, sunset occurred at about 1820-1830. However, the area in ques- 
tion was located directly east of the Chiricahua Mountains; the sun 
disappeared behind these shortly after 1800, leaving the area in deep 
shadow. The first female carrying prey was observed at 1600, the 
last at 1842, with the bulk of the provisioning occurring between 1730 
and 1830. September 10 was a cloudy day, and several females were 
out of thenests earlier than usual (by 1430) ; however, none were 
seen with prey until about 1 700. 
Several females were observed hunting flies. They would fly about 
tall herbs (especially Russian thistle, Salsola kali tenuifolia ) and 
actually fly in amongst the branches. Evidently they were searching 
for flies resting on the vegetation, for at this hour no flies were active. 
I was able to obtain only a few records of prey (Table IV). The 
wasps normally provide only a few fresh flies each evening, and nests 
dug out in the morning usually have few intact flies if any. It ap- 
peared that Bombyliidae provided the major prey in this area. Fe- 
males provision very rapidly, entering the nests quickly and remaining 
inside only 15-30 seconds each time. One female was observed to 
bring in eleven flies in one hour (1720-1820). 
TABLE IV. PREY OF BEMBIX U-SCR1PTA AT RODEO, NEW MEXICO 
Family and species of fly Number taken 
Therevidae 
C bromolepida pruinosa (Coq. ) 1 
Bombyliidae 
Phthiria sulphur ea Loew 2 
Villa (Chrys anthrax) sp. 1 
V. (Villa) salebrosus Painter 1 
Sarcophagidae 
Sarcophaga sp. 1 
Tachinidae 
Olenochaeta kansensis Tns. 1 
Phorocera sp. 1 
