1950] 
Braes — Wasps Attracted to Smoke 
115 
attractive and quickly sensed by them, either by sight or odor from 
adjoining areas of clear air. Aside from certain small vespid wasps 
( Ropalidia ) which nest in hollow bamboo railings, the large Vespa 
tropica philip pinensis Sauss. which builds its carton nests under 
wide overhanging eaves, and certain itinerant scoliids in search of 
prey, this is the commonest wasp to be seen about houses. It is the 
only one which deliberately enters any zones of smoke that may be 
drifting about, as such fumes cause the others to dart quickly away 
when encountered during flight. 
There can be no doubt that the Eumenes wasps, like the small 
Microsania flies are attracted by some material in smoke, quite 
possibly the creosote emanating from incompletely aerated fires. 
Fig. 1. Eumenes curvata Sauss. on nest; specimen now in the collection 
of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 
