92 
Psyche 
[March-June 
the nest, this female stayed inside 30-180 seconds before exiting to 
search for additional prey. Although not specifically stated, her pro- 
visioning activities clearly increased in intensity from late morning 
to late afternoon. 
Nest structure and dimensions. We excavated two nests of B. 
distinctus at the Colonie, N. Y., site and one of us (HEE) dug a 
nest of this species at Bedford, Mass. The two nests at Colonie 
were rather complicated in configuration, containing a number of 
branching and curving side burrows leading from a main tunnel. 
Because of the complexity of these nests, including much variation 
in the position and distance of the rearing cells from the entrance, 
we suspect that the wasps were utilizing, in part, the abandoned 
burrows of solitary bees and constructing short side burrows and 
cells therefrom. One nest (H23), still being provisioned when 
excavated, contained 7 cells at distances of from 32 to 45 cm from 
the entrance (Fig. 4). The cells were built in at least two distinct 
clusters, cells A and B in one cluster containing larvae, and cells 
C-F in another with eggs, plus an additional isolated cell (G). Only 
2-6 cm separated the cells within a cluster, and the closest cells in 
different clusters were 7-15 cm apart. The cells belonging to a 
cluster were oriented in one general direction and could have been 
made at the ends of short, branching side burrows leading from a 
single tunnel. None of the side burrows could be traced as they 
were filled with damp sand. A short main tunnel and three proximal 
side burrows which ended blindly were open and could be followed. 
The female was found in one of the side burrows, evidently extend- 
ing this burrow in a different direction after having sealed off the 
last cell. She had been inside the nest for 1 1 minutes after entering 
with the last prey and before we began our excavation. 
The second nest at Colonie (H23K), although more complex in 
structure than the first, was more compact, i. e., the cells were 
closer together and nearer the entrance (Figs. 3a, b). This nest 
contained a total of 8 cells and, likewise, was still being provisioned 
when excavated. Although the cells were oriented in different direc- 
tions from one another, they appeared to be constructed in three 
distinct clusters containing two different stages of wasps. Cell A, 
holding a cocoon, was separated only 9 cm from the entrance. Cells 
B-F, also containing cocoons, were situated only 1-7 cm apart at 
distances of from 16 to 22 cm from the entrance. The two most 
recent cells (G, H), containing larvae, were unearthed 9-10 cm 
from the entrance on the other side of the burrow from cell A. As 
