VII. SOME OTHER SPIDER RAVISHERS. 
(a) Pompilus Marginatus, Say. 
This species of Pompilus has had its story well told by previous 
admirers. The single specimen, whose ways are here described, 
while agreeing in mental traits with her northern sisters, still, in 
my opinion, deserves a mention among her southern relatives to 
which these pages are devoted. 
August 2d was a fine, hot day and my early expectations of some 
interesting performances by my insect entertainers were fully rea- 
lized during the day. At 9 :45, I came across a small Pompilus 
marginatus. The sprightly little spider ravisher alighted on the 
ground and hopped about in great agitation. I had often seen the 
species on the hunt and was anxious to see one in a duel with the 
eight-legged enemy of her race, or at work digging and storing the 
nest. She was at this time much more excited than when on the 
hunt; and she soon began to dig at a number of places only a few 
inches apart, showing that she was looking for a suitable place to 
dig her nest. After eight minutes of trial, she finally settled upon 
a place that seemed to suit her, little realizing, however, that she 
had chosen for the home of her offspring, the middle of a much 
used path through the sandy woods. Here she began to dig with 
vim and in a few minutes had dug a hole an inch or more in 
depth and was bringing out the sand at regular intervals, which 
increased in length with the increase in depth of the nest. The 
sand was pushed up in loads with the hind legs and the end of 
the abdomen. The wasp did not appear with a load each time, but 
often five or six loads would be allowed to accumulate at the en- 
trance, when the whole pile would be pushed out and scattered 
away from the entrance more or less carefully. All the work was 
done in feverish haste. While busy on the surface, the furious little 
worker held her wings straight up in the air, at times vibrating 
them and making them flash in the sunlight. 
Marginatus is a species that catches her prey before digging her 
nest and she did not delay long to make known where the spider 
was located. At 9 :56, i. e., after the wasp had been digging but 
a minute, she left her nest and ran off among the grass and weeds 
growing sparsely along the path. While running, the tiny worker 
betokened even more feverish excitement than when digging, for 
she ran swiftly with her wings standing out obliquely and in con- 
