40 
Some Solitary Wasps of Texas. 
(4) Large red ant. (Pogonomyrmex Apache.) I once saw a 
Microbembex pick up one of these fierce species and fly with it to a 
mesquit bush. There she hung from a twig by her front legs and 
held the ant with her other legs, while she bent her abdomen under 
her in her attempt to apply her long protruding sting. The ant 
seemed dead when I first saw the wasp pick it up and had probably 
been stung before; or the wasp may just have found the ant dead. 
That Microbembex does attack the living ants seems probable from a 
struggle I once saw between a wasp and two red ants, one of which 
had probably fastened its hold upon the wasp at the start until 
joined by the companion. The wasp was evidently dead when I took 
the two into a bottle with some sand. As I turned the bottle and 
so covered the insects with sand, the ants crawled to the surface and 
immediately began to dig down again to pull forth their dying ad- 
versary. 
(5) Flies of various kinds, particularly Syrphids. On one occa- 
sion I noticed a wasp fly to a weed and hang there by one of her 
hind feet while with the remaining five she held an apparently dead 
Syrphid. I could approach very close to her and could see how she 
held the fly and alternately apply her mandibles and proboscis to the 
fly’s thorax. It is probable that Microbembex was this time enjoying 
a little fly- juice for herself. Her action reminded me of Odynerus 
dorsalis which hung from a bush in the same manner and chewed a 
caterpillar, which she never does when this is intended for her 
larvae. Most solitary wasps suck the nectar of flowers for their sus- 
tenance. 
While Microbembex was working on the fly, she several times 
dropped it and found it again without any trouble, knowing evident- 
ly that the fly was to be found on a plumb-line from where it was 
dropped. Once when the wind blew the fly out of the plumb-line, 
the wasp had some difficulty in finding it, as she persistently search- 
ed where the fly should have been. Thus spider-catchers have 
learned to find their spiders if these fall straight down from the 
place where they have been lodged. 
(6) Bugs belonging to five or six different species and varying 
from two to twelve mm. in length. Some of the bugs were per- 
fectly dry, others were fresh when brought into the nest. 
(7) Small tree-hoppers , Tettigonia bifida , Say , the species 
which form the sole prey of Ally son melleus and of Rhopalum ab- 
dominale. 
(8) Polistes rubiginosuSj so dry that it broke apart while Micro- 
bembex was carrying it. 
