1932] Notes on the Prey of Podalonia 151 
In Colorado, although no specific determinations were 
made, it was nevertheless evident from the diversity of 
structure and markings of the prey, that a number of spe- 
cies of moth larvae had been taken by the wasp. In Cali- 
fornia, a few species were reared to maturity or otherwise 
identified. 
It appears almost impossible, under the present imper- 
fect conditions, to rear to the imago the inert and stung 
prey, in order to learn the species of moth used. The cut- 
worm, if the wasp egg be removed and if it contains no 
serious internal parasites, usually lives for a time, wastes 
away and finally dies. It seems possible that a suitable 
antidote might be prepared and injected into the prey to 
counteract the poison of the sting but as yet, to my knowl- 
edge at least, this has not been advanced nor perfected. 
The prey has been taken away from nesting females, 
from time to time, preserved and studied. In this manner, 
many larvae have been secured. To supplement this phase 
of the work, live, normal cutworms have been collected 
from the field, taken to the laboratory and reared to adults. 
These larvae have been found hiding beneath old boards, 
under rocks in the soil, or in the earth around the roots of 
plants. One reared specimen was Lycophotia saucia Hubn. 1 
It was taken from a wild tobacco plant, Nicotiana glauca 
Graham, upon the leaves of which there was evidence of 
it having been feeding. This individual pupated Febru- 
ary 1st and emerged mature February 23rd. Another 
species, determined from a larva sent to Carl Heinrich at 
Washington, is Chorizagrotis agrestis Grt., a prey of P. 
luctuosa . A moth, concerning which there remains some 
doubt as to whether or not its young is often used as prey, 
is Lycophotia margaritosa Haw. 2 
One group of wasp cells, dug and provisioned by a 
single mother over a period of time, numbered seven. 
They had been stored with moth larvae, representing 
three undetermined species. These had been used in as 
nearly equal numbers as possible. The ratio here, as also 
1 Determined by Dr. John A. Comstock. 
2 Determined by Dr. H. G. Dyar. 
