24 
Psyche 
[March 
(range 0.10 to 0.25 m 2 ). It was not apparent that territory size 
changed through the season as has been shown for the territorial bee 
Hoplitus anthocopoides (Eickwort 1977). 
Patterns of Territory Occupation 
Both casual observation and censusing showed that certain 
territories were occupied more frequently than others. Three of the 
twelve territories censused (A, K and D in Figure 2) were occupied 
at least 85% of the time in which at least one of the territories in the 
plot contained a territorial male. Territory D was occupied during 
95% of the period. These territories and several others were usually 
occupied during peak activity periods. Others contained males only 
sporadically, often for a few consecutive days followed by a lull of a 
week or more. Furthermore on overcast days and during the latter 
part of the season, when few males were territorial, males were 
nearly always observed on the most “popular territories. In 
contrast to these, five territories censused (B, E, F, G and H) were 
each occupied less than 30% of the time. 
For eleven of these territories, there was information on both size 
and frequency of occupation. Comparison of these two parameters 
shows no appreciable relationship between size and quality of the 
territory, the latter determined by the frequency of occupation (r = 
0.316; regression not significant). Therefore, the size of the territory 
(through the given range) or at least of the vegetation-free perch 
area does not seem to be a factor in choosing a territory, although 
there is probably a minimum acceptable space that males will 
utilize. 
For certain males that were watched continuously or were 
marked with paint, it was possible to record approximately how 
long they occupied a certain territory on a given day. The mean 
duration of occupation of a territory was 80 minutes (N — 25, S.D. 
= 45 minutes). 
During the summer of 1976, the distribution of territories occu¬ 
pied by individual males was recorded within observational limits. 
Probably due to the difficulty of marking these small wasps without 
killing them or hindering their movement, only 13 males were seen 
subsequent to the day on which they were marked, with only six 
being observed two or more times. The maximum time period over 
which a marked male was seen was fourteen days and the maximum 
