Wasps: Social And Solitary (1905)

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OCIAL

SOLITARY

EUZABETH G.

PBCKH AM

,

nj ru

oi ii

CD

m o

WASPS SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

Page 266

PELOP/EUS ON NEST, GROUP OF FINISHED CELLS, AND TUBE OPENED TO SHOW SPIDERS

WASPS SOCIAL AND SOLITARY BY

GEORGE

W. PECKHAM AND

ELIZABETH

G.

PECKHAM

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

JOHN BURROUGHS ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAMES

H.

" Bold sons of air and heat, untamed, untired."

EMERTON ILIAD,

Book XVII

'

>

BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY (Cbe 0itoer?ibc p>res$, Cambribge

1905

COPYRIGHT

1905

BY GEORGE W. PECKHAM AND ELIZABETH

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published Afril, 7905

G.

PECKHAM

NOTE A

PART

of the matter presented in this

volume was

published several years ago by the Wisconsin Biological Survey, under the Solitary

Wasps."

'

title

Instincts

and Habits of the

These chapters have been revised

and modified, and new matter based upon

later

work

has been added, in the hope that in their present technical form the observations recorded

will

be of

less in-

terest to the general reader.

For a number

of the text cuts used in this

volume we

are indebted to the courtesy of Dr. E. A. Birge, Director of the

Survey.

Wisconsin Geological and Natural History

CONTENTS PAGE

CHAPTER I.

II.

COMMUNAL LIFE

i

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS

III.

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER

IV.

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS

V.

VI. VII. VIII. IX.

X. XI. XII.

XIII.

CRABRO

AN

.

...

....... ......

ISLAND SETTLEMENT

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

THE BURROWERS

THE WOOD-BORERS THE SPIDER-HUNTERS THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER WORKERS IN CLAY .

.

72

97

119 141

196

248

.

.

265

275

.

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE

56

178 .

.

SENSE OF DIRECTION

15

.

.

.

292

31254

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE

GROUP OF FINISHED CELLS, AND TUBE OPENED TO SHOW SPIDERS (page 266) Frontispiece WASP EATING 3 PAPER NEST WITH SIDE REMOVED TO SHOW CONPELOP^EUS ON NEST,

........

STRUCTION OF COMBS

.

.

.

.

ii

.

........

AMMOPHILA URNARIA CARRYING CATERPILLAR TO NEST

19

AMMOPHILA URNARIA STINGING CATERPILLAR CATERPILLAR WITH EGG OF AMMOPHILA URNARIA NEST OF AMMOPHILA AMMOPHILA URNARIA USING STONE TO POUND DOWN EARTH OVER NEST

39

THOROUGH LOCALITY STUDY BY SPHEX

59

.

..... .

.

HASTY LOCALITY STUDY BY SPHEX SPHEX DRAGGING GRASSHOPPER TO HER NEST NEST OF SPHEX .

27

29 31

.61

.

.

..... ...... ...... ....

63

69

OXYBELUS QUADRINOTATUS NEST OF OXYBELUS

75

APORUS FASCIATUS

81

WASP HOMES

IN THE LOG CABIN NEST OF PERENNIS NEST OF ANORMIS .

.

.

79

85

89 .

.

.

91

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE

SEXMACULATUS IN THE LINDEN ROOTS CRABRO AND HER WHITE MOTHS

.

.

.103

.

.

CRABRO STIRPICOLA BOTTLE ON STEM TO MEASURE WORK OF CRABRO NEST OF C. STIRPICOLA .

.

AMMOPHILA

SLEEPING

.

.

.

THE

IN

99

.

GRASS

106

.

.

113

(AFTER

BANKS) NEST OF BEMBEX

115 125

BEMBEX SPINOL^E LOOKING OUT OF NEST BEMBEX

A CORNER

OF THE BEMBEX COLONY

-131

.

136

....

NEST OF CERCERIS NIGRESCENS

.

.

.

CERCERIS DESERTA

:

143

LOCALITY STUDY BEFORE LEAV-

ING NEST

153

PHILANTHUS PUNCTATUS

.

.

NEST OF PHILANTHUS PUNCTATUS APHILANTHOPS GATHERING ANTS

TRYPOXYLON RUBROCINCTUM

.

.

.

.

163

185

.

.191

.

...

DIG-

197

.

.

POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS EPEIRA STRIX PARALYZED AND HUNG UP ON BEAN

PLANT BY POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS, OUT OF THE WAY OF ANTS

.....

P.

QUINQUENOTATUS POMPILUS MARGINATUS

.

.

.

157

.169

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MALE TRYPOXYLON AWAITING THE FEMALE TORNADO WASP (POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS)

NEST OF

137

142

CERCERIS CLYPEATA

GING NEST

107

199

203

.213 223

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE HOME-COMING

.... ....

OF SCELESTUS

NEST OF AGENIA BOMBYCINA LYCOSA KOCHII, FOUND IN NEST OF AGENIA BOMBYCINA

241

245

245

TACHYTES

NEST OF TACHYTES.

PAGE

249 .

.

.

CHLORION AND THE INDISCREET CRICKET HORIZONTAL CELLS OF THE MUD-DAUBER

-251

.

.

257

.

.

.271

.

COURSE FOLLOWED BY POMPILUS FUSCIPENNIS IN FINDING HER SPIDER, AND IN RETRACING HER STEPS TO THE NEST

283

LOCALITY STUDY OF ASTATA BICOLOR

288

LOCALITY STUDY OF ASTATA UNICOLOR

.

.

.

.

.

SECOND LOCALITY STUDY OF ASTATA UNICOLOR

290

PARALYZED SPIDER HUNG UP ON SORREL BY QUINQUENOTATUS WHILE SHE DIGS HER NEST .

>-'

289

295

"o IbU

Introduction

NOT

long since I wrote to a friend, a nature lover,

as follows:

"The most charming monograph

in

any department of our natural history that I have read

many a year is on our solitary wasps, by George W. Peckham and his wife, of Wisconsin, - a work so in

-

delightful

and

that

instructive

it

is

a great pity

it

is

not published in some popular series of nature books,

where

it

could reach

its

fit

audience, instead of being

handicapped as a State publication." This end has now been brought about, and the book with

much new

gives

many new

material and

placed within easy reach of

all

interest of a

and enlarged

illustrations -

nature lovers, to

me pleasure to commend it.

of patient, exact,

revised

It is

whom

it

a wonderful record

and loving observation, which has all the

romance.

right at our feet,

It

opens up a world of Lilliput

wherein the

delight us with their curious

little

human

people amuse and foibles

and whim-

sicalities, and surprise us with their intelligence and individuality. Here I had been saying in print that I

looked upon insects as perfect automata, and

same

all

of the

class as nearly alike as the leaves of the trees or

xm

INTRODUCTION upon the beach. I had not reckoned with the Peckhams and their solitary wasps. The solitary ways the sands

of these insects

seem

and they

one from another, more than any other

differ

to bring out their individual traits,

known

wild creatures

to

me.

man is the only tool-using

has been thought that

It

animal, yet here

wasps, Ammophila, that uses a

down

hand, and uses

would take a stone

hammer

as a

it

I

to

this

;

so far as I

know

there

This

I

act

am

reading

is

its

soil

a remark-

no other animal on

makes any mechanical use

continent that

object or substance foreign to

The

is

in

our

in

pound down the

above the cavity that holds her egg. able fact

pebble to pound

She takes the pebble

the earth over her nest.

her mandibles, as you or

little

one of these

is

own body

of

in this

an

way.

stamps Ammophila as a tool-using animal. have had more delight in

free to confess that I this

book than

in a long time.

in reading

Such a queer

little

any other nature book people as

it

reveals to

us, so whimsical, so fickle, so fussy, so forgetful, so wise

and yet so

foolish,

such victims of routine and yet so

and yet such

individual, with such apparent foresight

thoughtlessness,

finding their

way back

to the

same

square inch of earth in the monotonous expanse of a

wide plowed

field

with unfailing accuracy, and then at

times finishing their

cell

and sealing xiv

it

up without the

INTRODUCTION and the egg

spider

and

;

hardly any two alike

excitable, another

calm and unhurried

suspicious, that one confiding

burrow before

it

captures

game and then digging up

spider

it

works

moment

its

little

of

this

;

one its

game, others capturing the

weed

one wasp hanging

;

to

at its nest,

or two to see that

keep

it

it is

safe it

its

away from the

and then running

ing the insect on the ground while

and

one care-

;

one species digging

;

the hole

in the fork of a

ants while

queer

one nervous

her work, another neat and thorough

less in

every

;

;

to

it

another lay-

digs,

-

verily a

people, with a lot of wild nature about them,

human

nature, too.

JOHN BURROUGHS.

WASPS and Solitary

Social

I

Chapter

COMMUNAL "

"

What

A)

LIFE

For where 's the state beneath the firmament That doth excel the wasps' for government." is

not good for the swarm

is

not good for the wasp."

mankind

the tendency of

to

crowd

grows stronger the joys of country

into life

towns

and the

workings of Nature are more and more excluded from the daily experience of humanity. love of the wild

is

too strong for suppression,

from the hot and noisy of spirit to

meet our

streets they find

little

wider spaces of their

We

In a few the primal

it

and turning

a refreshment

brothers of earth and air in the

own

territory.

were walking through the woods one hot day in

the middle of August

when our

attention

was attracted

by a stream of yellow-jackets issuing from the ground. They came in such surprising numbers and looked so i

WASPS, SOCIAL of energy that

full

AND SOLITARY

we stopped

was our introduction

to

watch them, and

to the study of these

this

"bold sons of

and heat," although a perusal of Fabre's fascinating " "Souvenirs Entomologiques had prepared us to feel a

air

We -were

them.

lively interest in

near Milwaukee, where

wooded

at

our

meadow and

summer home

garden, with the

island in the lake close by, offered themselves as

hunting grounds, while wasps of every kind, the istic tribes

as well as the extreme individualists of the

solitary species,

The Vespas first

social-

were waiting

that

be studied.

had aroused our

attention, and a nest

in the

convenient arrangement.

been dangerous to

to

life

interest received

ground proved

our

to be a most

Experiments that would have

and limb had we

tried

them with

a paper nest hanging in the open, were easy here so long

we kept calm and

unflurried. Intent upon their own and affairs, unsuspicious of evil, perhaps because they knew themselves to be armed against aggression, they

as

accepted our presence, at

we

first

with indifference

;

but as

after day we must have become landand them, perhaps before the summer was over they considered us really a part of home. While poor humanity takes comfort in a mid-day sat there

day

marks

to

siesta,

wasps love the heat of noontide, and with every

rise

in temperature they fly faster, 2

hum

louder,

and

COMMUNAL rejoice

more and more

trance to the

LIFE

in the fullness of

life.

The

en-

Vespa nest was but an inch across; and once in and out in a hurrying throng,

when they were going jostling

each other in their eagerness, we counted the

number

that passed, one taking the entrances

and one

WASP EATING

In ten minutes

the exits. left

the nest

five

hundred and ninety-two

and two hundred and forty-seven went

in,

we saw eight hundred and thirty-nine or about eighty to the minute. This must be a strong swarm, wonderful indeed when we thought that it had all come

so that

from a single queen mother.

made an

We imagined how she

had

early start, digging a hole in the ground, build-

ing within

it

a paper

comb with 3

five or six cells

around a

WASPS, SOCIAL

and laying therein some neuter eggs; month in attending carefully

central column,

how

AND SOLITARY

she had then spent a

to the beginnings of things, feeding the

young larvae as they hatched, and watching over them through their childhood and youth; and then how her solicitude was rewarded by the

filial

devotion with which this

first set

of

workers took upon themselves the labor of excavating,

and feeding the young, everything indeed except the egg-laying. These queens, surrounded though they

building,

are by respectful

worst of

it

in

and

attentive subjects,

have much the

our estimation, never going out, and passing

Through the early summer only neuters are produced, but when fall approaches the their lives in a dull routine.

future generation

is

males and females.

provided for by the development of

The

activity of the little colony

by the season, for as the days

limited

males and females leave the nest and mate, and a

little

both males and workers lose ambition, become

later

inactive

and

finally die, while the

protected corners to reappear

and

is

grow colder the

larvae, left

moulds and comes

to

queens hide away in

in the spring.

unfed and uncared

to hordes of insects,

The

eggs

for, become a prey to and thus the swarm

an end.

We had once made some not very successful attempts to find out

whether spiders had a sense of color; and seeing 4

COMMUNAL

much more

that the conditions were

present subjects, test

their

sheets of

LIFE

we thought

favorable with our

would be a good plan

it

knowledge of the spectrum.

stiff

paper two

ting a circular hole four in the centre of each,

Providing six

feet square, colored respectively

and two shades

red, blue, green, pink,

to

and one

of yellow,

and

cut-

half inches in diameter

we began our experiments by

pla-

cing the red paper over the nest so that the entrance was

The outgoing wasps dashed upward

clearly exposed.

without noticing

it,

but great was the confusion

Thrown

the homecomers.

among

out of their reckoning, they

clamored about us in ever increasing swarms.

Like

Homer's wasps, " All rise in

arms and with a general cry

Assert their domes and buzzing progeny,"

was approaching, when one, a pioneer of thought, determined to go into the hole, which did not look like the right hole, although it was where the right and a

crisis (for us)

hole ought to be;

and

so potent

one the others followed.

become accustomed

to

is

example that one by

Three hours

later they

the change, and went

in

had

and out

as usual.

They had

noticed the paper

;

that

was plain enough,

but did they notice the redness?

To

things as they were for two days,

and then substituted

5

test this,

we

left

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

blue paper for the red. Again the confusion, the swarming of fervent legions,

the noisy expostulations,

the

descent of one after another; but this time they settled

down

to their ordinary routine in a little

On

hours.

the following day

we removed

more than two the blue paper,

leaving the grass around the nest exposed

;

and

this

proved a new source of mystification, but not so serious as the others.

were

still

At the end of an hour twenty-five or

thirty

buzzing about, needing the guidance of the

blue paper to get inside, and entering at once

was replaced. As we

new

from day

when

it

to

day a

few of the wasps became entirely reconciled to our

inter-

tried

colors

and paid no attention to the changes, while the others grew more or less accustomed to the idea of mutaference,

bility,

and were but

showed

little

disturbed, although they

their consciousness of

a few circles before going

in.

still

each alteration by making

We once placed some dark

red nasturtiums on light yellow paper near the nest, and

found that more than one third of the homecoming

wasps flew ing.

to

them and hovered over them before

When light yellow nasturtiums,

paper in

color,

six noticed

nearly matching the

were substituted, only one out of

them; and as the odor was as strong

case as the other,

it

enter-

thirty-

in

one

would seem that the color was the

attracting force.

6

COMMUNAL Our

final color

LIFE

experiment was to

remain for a day or two, giving time for

become

familiar with

and then

it,

the blue paper

let

all

the wasps to

to leave

it

ground a foot and a half away, while replacing This gave a

yellow.

that they

false nest

on the it

with

surrounded by the color

had been associating with the entrance, and a by a new

true nest surrounded

color.

In the next ten

minutes two hundred and seventy wasps came home, and every one of them went to the false nest.

above

it,

began

to excavate,

Many

others entered the hole in the paper,

and made quite a depression

ground; but gradually they found

Three hours

later seventy-six

their

circled

and some in the

way home.

wasps entered the

false

and at evening they were still visiting numbers but on the next day we saw only

nest in five minutes, it

in goodly

;

two that were deceived.

On

successive days

we

substituted red for yellow,

green for red, and so on, always with similar results,

although the wasps became more and more accustomed to the vicissitudes of their

look for the hole

itself

life,

and

after a time

seemed

without relying upon the color to

guide them. They found their nest under a color new

them much more

to

readily than

away and the ground green paper was around

when

the paper

entirely

left

the

their nest,

7

exposed.

to

was taken

Once when

and the wind

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL blew

it

over the hole so that they could not enter, at least

one hundred collected, nest; free,

when we

many

lifted the

of

them

settling in the false

green paper, leaving the hole

only three or four entered, but

when we put

in place they rushed in six or seven at a time.

it

back

It

was

plainly the color that directed them.

This was a nearly rainless summer,

a condition

extremely favorable to wasp development. plied

and grew

until the

and no wonder,

whole country-side complained,

for houses

were

full of

them, and at meal-

times they gathered at the table with the

How

family. It

did they

Nests multi-

members of

the

know when dinner was ready

?

could not have been by the sight, unfamiliar to them,

of cooked food

smell

;

was

then, through the

it,

sense of

?

Many

were the questions that we asked

in vain of

our Vespas, but here was one that they could readily

be made to answer.

We

rolled

up two bundles, one

nothing but gauze, and another, like

but containing some laid

to

warm

one side of the

it

in appearance,

chicken bones

nest,

of

;

these were

the color of the gauze

was placed.

matching that of the paper on which

it

The wasps

though loaded

in returning to the nest, even

with food, could not settled thickly

upon

resist the

appetizing odor, and

the bone bundle, trying their best

8

COMMUNAL to penetrate within,

noticed.

As

LIFE

while the empty gauze was un-

the bones grew cold

less attention,

and dry they attracted

but two days later they were occasion-

ally visited.

killed

Having

two wasps that had alighted on the

ground, by striking them with a folded paper,

we took

them up and placed one of them at a distance, so that it was entirely hidden in the grass. Five settled above and

it,

visited

had

after they

it

away

several others, while the spot

by

killed

minutes.

had carried

them drew

to

it

nine wasps within fifteen

;

of scent

where

but the powerful

oils of

peppermint and wintergreen, although little

was

upon which we

Thus they seemed very keen

animal matter was concerned

the place

noticed, aroused

attention, perhaps because they indicated nothing

of interest to them.

Our experiments on

hearing met with negative

results.

The wasps seemed insensible to any noise we could make or that we could produce by whistles of various degrees of shrillness.

This of course does not show that

they cannot hear, and any one

enough will

to disturb

them

remember how

in the

their

who has been

unfortunate

neighborhood of

their nest

angry buzzing seemed to serve

as a battle cry to gather all the

members

of the clan for

the attack.

9

/ '
*

ILU

L

-

I

V

WASPS, SOCIAL Our Vespas began when darkness

fell

being able to

nest,

work an hour or two

to

and did not stop

rise,

AND SOLITARY

until dusk.

One

after sun-

cloudy evening

early they continued to return to the fly to

the right spot without any hesi-

although our vision did not permit us to see the

tation,

down on our knees and

opening without going

At

closely.

last

it

grew perfectly

dark, and we

looking

stuffed a

handkerchief into the hole, with the result that seventyfive,

coming home without a ray

of light to guide them,

were shut out, and were found clustered about the spot

on the following morning.

We wanted to worker bird

estimate the

and

in a day,

call,

we went

amount

so, rising

of labor

done by a

one morning at the

out into the freshness of dawn, and for

an hour had the world

to ourselves ; but a little before five

a few straggling wasps that had stayed out

began

to bring in loads,

fairly

under way.

counted

all

and by

From

all

half past four until twelve

all this activity

We once

and took out a

raised a

little

we

and 3362 coming

there seemed to be no

pleasure excursions, for each one carried food returning,

night

half past seven they were

that passed, 4534 going out

home; and with

first

pellet of earth

garden from the

when

when

leaving.

pellets that were

dropped on our porch table where we kept a bowl of water.

Wasps

are great drinkers,

10

and when they

find

COMMUNAL

LIFE

such a provision they come frequently to refresh them-

dropping their loads as they

selves,

of holding

on

alight.

to their loads until they settle

This habit

down may

perhaps make them a factor in extending the boundaries of plant distribution, both under ordinary conditions

and when, as must often happen with flying so high, they are

blown

little

creatures

to long distances

from

home.

Having kept

close track not only of the

numbers, but of

the hours, each count

being five

made

to cover

we were

minutes,

able to calculate that

an average

trip occu-

pied forty-three minutes.

When we met

these

wasps

garden

seemed

never

they to

the

in

be hurry-

ing,

and had the

of

amusing

air

them-

selves ; but they

PAPER NEST WITH SIDE REMOVED TO

must

SHOW CONSTRUCTION OF COMBS

be faithful workers to accomplish so much. lished

that

The

when food

curious fact has been estab-

is

very plentiful the workers

II

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

begin to lay male eggs, thus taking from the queen a

and leaving her

part of her burden

neuters and females.

was found,

at the

The

nest that

free

end of the season,

we opened had from two

produce

we were watching to contain

in various stages of development,

wasps

to

4661

and others

to four thousand.

This

that

no-

is

thing to the social wasps of China, where a single house-

hold bers

is

;

made up

but China

of is

from

fifteen to

a thickly populated country, and per-

human

haps with wasps as with live in

mem-

twenty thousand

beings several families

a single domicile.

Outside of their wonderful social instincts our wasps are found wanting in the higher gifts of emotion tellect.

When we

them near the in

nest,

number

and

them and placed their nearest relatives wasted no time

killed a

of

mourning, nor yet in revenge, but calmly cut up the

bodies and fed them to the ever hungry young ones.

we

in-

If

placed some rich and tempting morsels at a distance,

two or three would discover them, and would go back

and

forth all

day without

telling the others

about

ants would have done under like circumstances.

we

it,

as

When

obstructed the opening to their nest by lightly laying

blades of grass across, the day passed without ring to the wasps to

lift

its

occur-

them away, although they

suf-

fered the greatest inconvenience in getting in and out,

12

COMMUNAL

LIFE

crawling laboriously through, and in some instances giving up the task and flying away.

Vespa maculata, building on trees and fences, has practically the same habits as the ground wasp, germanica,

the internal structure of the nest following the

plan, while the outer wall

that of the combs,

beaten wood. to that of

of a papery substance like

is

made from

The genus

same

the scrapings of weather-

Polistes builds

combs

similar

Vespa, under porches or in any sheltered place,

and does not

inclose them. All these wasps,

when

adult,

enjoy fruit and flowers as well as animal food; but only this last is

used for the young, and

creeping along with sinister design to

is

many

a caterpillar

snatched by them

be chewed into a pulpy mass, and then fed to the

larvae.

No

calculation has been

made

of the value of

these wasps in agriculture,

and one of the things that

farmers have yet to learn

to

in orchards

Some

is

encourage their presence

and gardens.

species are said to sting the drones

and

death at the close of the season, but this habit

larvae to

is

not

fol-

lowed by V. germanica and V. maculata. Since there

no

store of provision to

be economized through the winter

the only object of such conduct

would be the merciful

one of ending their sufferings at once instead of

them perish by slow

is

starvation,

13

and we

find

letting

no evidence

WASPS, SOCIAL for

such elevated ideas.

AND SOLITARY

What makes

for the welfare of

the species they thoroughly attend to, but

beyond that

point they do not go.

The

socialism of wasps

that of bees

and

fice of self to

wonder and

of

ants,

the

human

to the state

and

is

in a less evolved state than

yet there

common good beings,

whose

is

in

it

sufficient sacri-

to excite the respectful

relations to each other

have such different standards.

Chapter

II

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS we had worked long on our Vespa

BEFORE we were beguiled

running after the solitary wasps. species are concerned, are

than the socials

;

The

them

immensely more numerous

over, although

summer

deed they come

is

end of the season.

Solitary in-

into the world, the generation that gave fall.

one of unmixed pleasure, and

guided though they

on the

occasionally find

laid the year before.

birth having perished in the

career

leaf,

we

of each other

they begin to emerge from the nest

which the eggs were

them

little

living happily together until the

In the early in

is

mating

solitaries, so far as

but they have only two sexes, and the

males and females usually see but after the

family

by tempting opportunities into

are,

For a time yet, free

and un-

basking in the sunshine, feeding

flowers, or sleeping at night

under some sheltering

they are hourly acquiring experience, so that

the cares of creatures of

life

their

when

descend upon them they are no longer

mere

instinct.

With

these sobering cares an

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

almost absurdly heavy sense of responsibility for future generations transforms the hitherto happy-go-lucky

fe-

males into grown-up wasps with serious views on market-

Each one makes a separate nest own labor and in many cases a

ing and infant foods.

and provisions

new

nest

is

it

by her

made

among them

;

;

There

for each egg.

is

no cooperation

although in certain genera, as Aphilan-

thops and Bembex, a

number

The

together, forming a colony.

mud, and attached

of individuals build close

for shelter

eaves of buildings, or

may

nests

under

may

be

made

of

leaves, rocks, or

be burrows hollowed out in

the ground, in trees or in the stems of plants. fruit or nectar,

The

adult

but the young grub or

wasp

lives

larva

must have animal food and here the parent wasp

upon

;

shows a

rigid conservatism, each species providing the

sort of food that

has been approved by

generations, one taking beetles,

caterpillars,

flies,

its

family for

another bugs, and another

grasshoppers,

crickets,

locusts,

spiders, cockroaches, aphides, or other creatures, as the

case

may

When

be.

the egg-laying time arrives the female secures

her prey, which she either

kills

or paralyzes, places

it

in

upon it, and then, in most cases, and takes no further interest in it, going on

the nest, lays the egg closes the hole

to

make new

nests

from day

to day.

16

In some genera the

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS female maintains a longer connection with her offspring, not bringing

the provision at once, but returning to

all

feed the larva as

nently

grows, and leaving the nest perma-

it

only when

the grub has spun

males never acquire

admirable for the

this interest, so

development of character, and aid

The egg

the care of the family.

The

cocoon.

its

at

if

little,

all,

in

develops in from one to

three days into a footless, maggot-like creature which feeds

for

in

upon the store provided size, and entering the pupal

stage in

to

two weeks.

passes through

In the cocoon

it

increasing rapidly

it,

metamorphosis, emerging as a perfect

two or three weeks,

or, in

many

from three days

insect,

final

its

perhaps in

cases, after the winter

months have passed and summer has come again.

Most effilee,

graceful

attractive of all the

"

wasps

tournure svelte," as Fabre describes them, the

mophiles, of first

and

all

taille

Am-

the inhabitants of the garden, hold the

place in our affections.

Not

so beautiful as the blue

Pelopaeus, nor so industrious as the

little

red-girdled Try-

poxylon, their intelligence, their distinct individuality,

and

their obliging tolerance of our society

an unfailing source of most remarkable of

interest.

all

They

are,

moreover, the

genera in their stinging habits,

being supposed to use the nicest surgical lyzing their caterpillars

make them

;

skill in

para-

and few things have given us 17

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

deeper pleasure than our success in following the ac-

and penetrating the secrets of their lives. In our garden we have two species of Ammophila, urnaria C restivities

and gracilis Cresson, both of them being very slenderbodied wasps of about an inch in length, gracilis all black,

son,

and urnaria with a red band around the

front

end of the

A. polita and A. vulgaris, which look

abdomen.

like urnaria, are

common

in the

sandy

fields

much

west and

south of Milwaukee.

During the

earlier part of the

summer we had

often

seen these wasps feeding upon the nectar of flowers, especially ticularly

upon

that of the sorrel, of

which they are par-

fond but at that time we gave them but pass-

ing notice.

;

One bright morning,

however, we came upon

an urnaria that was so evidently hunting, and hunting earnest, that

we gave up

The ground was Ammophila was

everything else to follow her.

covered,

patches of purslain, and

it

in

more or

less

thickly, with

was under these weeds that our

eagerly searching for her prey.

After

thoroughly investigating one plant she would pass to another,

running three or four steps and then bounding as

though she were made of thistledown and were too light remain upon the ground. she was in

full

to

We followed her easily, and as

view nearly

of the time

all

hope of witnessing the capture but ;

18

in this

we had

every

we were des-

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS tined to disappointment.

We had been in

attendance on

her for about a quarter of an hour when, after disappearing for a few

she

moments under

came out with a green

the thick purslain leaves,

caterpillar.

We had missed the

wonderful sight of the paralyzer at work but we had no ;

time to

bemoan our

loss, for she

was making

off at so

AMMOPHILA URNARIA CARRYING CATERPILLAR TO NEST

rapid a pace that

with her. before,

we were

well occupied in keeping

up

She hurried along with the same motion as

unembarrassed by the weight of her victim. For

sixty feet she kept to

open ground, passing between two

rows of bushes but at the end of ;

den, she plunged, very

much 19

to

this division of the gar-

our dismay, into a

field

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

Here we had great difficulty in followfar from keeping to her former orderly

of standing corn.

ing her, since,

course, she zigzagged

among

the plants in the most be-

wildering fashion, although keeping a general direction

seemed quite impossible that she could know where she was going. The corn rose to a height of of northeast. It

six feet all

around us the ground was uniform ;

in appear-

ance, and, to our eyes, each group of cornstalks like every other group, tion, the

little

and

yet,

was

just

without pause or hesita-

creature passed quickly along, as

we might

through the familiar streets of our native town.

At

she paused and laid her burden down.

last

power

that has led her

fect instinct, for

is

!

the

not a blind, mechanically per-

she has traveled a

must go back one row

Ah

into the

little

She

too far.

open space that she has

already crossed, although not just at this point. Nothing like

a nest

all alike,

see our

is

visible to us

and

little

it is

;

the surface of the ground looks

with exclamations of wonder that

guide

lift

two

pellets of earth

we

which have

served as a covering to a small opening running

down

into the ground.

The way

being thus prepared, she hurries back with

her wings quivering and her whole joyful

the

triumph

mean

at the

time, have

manner betokening

completion of her task. We, in

become 20

as

much

excited over the

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS matter as she brings

it

mouth

to the

bles

and drags it out and delight.

How clear and

and

caterpillar,

lays

it

in her

it

down.

mandi-

of sight, leaving us full of admira-

accurate must be the observing powers

of these wonderful

little

must, for them, have

a larger stone there, a

each nest

creatures

its

own

is

Every patch of ground

character

wonder

the

all in

a pebble here,

;

grass

so temporary.

provisioned and closed up,

made

!

trifling tuft of

And

be their landmarks. interest in

of the burrow,

in herself, she catches

Then, backing

tion

She picks up the

herself.

is

of

A

-

-

these must

it is

that their

burrow

is

dug,

two or three days, and

in a

new

place with everything to

time on to the

first

of September our garden

then another

is

learn over again.

From was

this

full of

these wasps,

nation for us

tween their weather,

;

although, owing

and ours as

lost their fasci-

to a decided difference be-

what constituted pleasant our knowledge of them was gained by the

taste

all

and they never

sweat of our brows.

to

When we

wished

to utilize the cool

hours of the morning or of the late afternoon in studying them, or thought to take advantage of a cloud which cast a grateful shade over the sun at noonday, where were

our Ammophiles ? Out of sight entirely, or at best only to

be seen idling about on the flowers of the onion or 21

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

At such a time they seemed

sorrel.

in

life

and no idea

to

have no mission

But when the

of duty.

air

was

clear

and bright and the mercury rose higher and higher, all was changed. Their favorite working hours were from eleven in the morning to three in the afternoon, and

when they did work they threw It

was well

that

it

was

so, for

their

whole souls into

they certainly needed

it.

all

and perseverance that they could muster for such wearisome and disappointing labor. Hour after the enthusiasm

hour was passed to

show

on the

at the

end of it. Urnaria hunted on bare ground,

and most

purslain,

These were examined

down

and often there was nothing

in search,

the stems

of all

on the bean-plants.

carefully, the

wasp going up and

and looking under every

leaf

;

but the

search was so frequently unsuccessful that in estimating their

work we are

inclined to think that they can scarcely

average one caterpillar a day.

In

this species, as in every

we have found a most

one that we have studied,

interesting variation

different individuals, not only in

acter

and

intellect.

among

the

methods, but in char-

While one was beguiled from her

hunting by every sorrel blossom she passed, another stuck to her work with indefatigable perseverance. While

one stung her caterpillar so carelessly and made her nest in so shiftless a

way

that her

22

young could survive only

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS through some lucky chance, another devoted herself to these duties not only with conscientious thoroughness,

but with an apparent craving after that

was touching

artistic perfection

to see.

The method employed by

the

their prey is

more complex than

tory wasp.

The

Ammophiles

in stinging

that of any other preda-

with which they provision their

larvae

made up of thirteen segments, and each of has its own nervous centre or ganglion. Hence if

nests are

these

the caterpillar

is

to

be reduced to a state of immobility,

or to a state so nearly approaching immobility that the

egg is

may

be safely laid upon

it,

a single sting, such as

given by some of the Pompilidae to their captured

spiders, will

be scarcely

sufficient. All this

Fabre's "Souvenirs," and yet

pared

to believe that

we were

we knew from

not at

all

pre-

any plain American wasp could

supply us with such a thrilling performance as that of the Gallic hirsuta, which he so dramatically describes.

We were, however, important

moment

how and where

most anxious that

to

we might

be present at the

all-

see for ourselves just

urnaria stings her victim.

For a whole week of scorching summer weather we lived in the

bean patch, scorning

fatigue.

We

quoted to

each other the example of Fabre's daughter Claire,

who

followed Odynerus with unfaltering zeal until a sun23

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL stroke laid her low.

hunted;

we

We attended scores of wasps as they

we threw

ran,

ourselves

upon the ground,

we scrambled along on our hands and knees perate endeavors to keep

them

in view,

in our des-

sometimes with

our eyes upon the wasps themselves and sometimes pursuing their shadows, which, like those of coming events,

were cast before

;

and yet they escaped

After we had

us.

kept one in sight for an hour or more, some sudden flight

would carry her At little

larvae

lead

last,

away, and

all

our labor was

however, our day came.

We

which we could drop

them fly

leaf

in

lost.

were doing a

hunting on our own account, hoping

urnaria

bean

far

to find

some

view of the wasps and thus

to display their powers,

when we saw an

up from the ground to the underside of a and knock down a small green caterpillar.

Breathless with an excitement which will be understood

by those who have tasted the joy of such a moment, we

hung over the actors in our little drama. The ground was bare, we were close by and could see every motion distinctly. Nothing more perfect could have been desired.

The wasp

attacked at once, but was rudely repulsed,

the caterpillar rolling

and unrolling

itself

rapidly

and

with the most violent contortions of the whole body.

Again and again

its

adversary descended, but failed to

24

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS The

gain a hold.

caterpillar, in its struggles, flung itself

here and there over the ground, and had there been any grass or other covering near by

might have reached a

it

place of partial safety; but there was no shelter within reach,

and

alighting over its

wasp succeeded in end, and in grasping

at the fifth attack the it,

body firmly

near the anterior

Standing high on her

in her mandibles.

long legs and disregarding the continued struggles of her victim, she lifted

her

it

from the ground, curved the end

abdomen under

its

body, and darted her sting be-

From

tween the third and fourth segments. there

was a complete

of

movement on

cessation of

Limp and

of the unfortunate caterpillar.

this instant

the part it

helpless,

could offer no further opposition to the will of

con-

its

For some moments the wasp remained motionand then, withdrawing her sting, she plunged it

queror. less,

successively between the third

and the second, and

between the second and the

segments.

The a

caterpillar

moment

ing, seized

the it

wasp

left

lying

above

circled

it,

on the ground. For

and

then, descend-

again, further back this time,

great deliberation stings,

was now

first

and nicety

of action gave

it

and with four

more

beginning between the ninth and tenth segments

and progressing backward. Urnaria, probably feeling

-

25

-

as

we

certainly did

-

-

a

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY and a

reaction from the strain of the last few minutes, relief at the

labors. to

completion of her task,

now

mean

time, almost

directed upward.

made

legs, standing, in

on her head, with her abdomen

She then gave her face a thorough

washing and rubbing with her she had

from her

Alighting on the ground close by, she proceeded

smooth her body with her long hind

the

rested

first legs,

a complete and satisfactory

and not toilet

until

did she

return to the caterpillar.

We saw Ammophila capture her prey only three times during the whole summer; but from these observations

and from the condition

of her caterpillars taken at vari-

ous times from nests, her method seems to be wonderfully close to that of hirsuta,

amount

Thus

with just about the same

of variation in different individuals. in

our second example, she stung the

first

three

segments in the regular order, the third, the second, and lastly

(and most persistently) the

first.

without a pause, to sting the fourth, seventh, stopping at this point

segments untouched.

and

In our

first

She then went on, fifth,

sixth,

and

leaving the posterior

example,

it

will

remembered, the middle segments were spared.

be

The

stinging being completed, she proceeded to the process

known

as

malaxation,

which

consists

in

repeatedly

squeezing the neck of the caterpillar, or other victim, 26

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS between the mandibles, the subject of the treatment being turned around and around so that

all sides

may be

equally affected.

In our third case a caterpillar which we had caught

was placed

in front of a

wasp

had

just after she

carried

the second larva into her nest. She seemed rather indifferent to finally

it,

passing

picked

it

tween the third

it

once or twice as she ran about, but

up and gave it one prolonged sting beand fourth segments. She then spent a

AMMOPHILA URNARIA STINGING CATERPILLAR

long time in squeezing the neck, pinching again, after

which

showed no further further study.

it

was

left

it

again and

on the ground and as she

interest in

;

it

we

carried

it

home

for

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

In the three captures, then, that came under our observation, all the caterpillars being of the

and almost exactly

of the

same

methods were employed. In the given at the extremities, the

size,

same

species

three different

seven stings were

first,

middle segments being

untouched, and no malaxation was practiced.

left

In the

second, seven stings again, but given in the anterior and

middle segments, followed by third, only

In the

slight malaxation.

one sting was given, but the malaxation was

prolonged and

severe.

Let us now compare these variations with those of Fabre. ferent

In his

first

case the sting entered at twelve dif-

between the

points, beginning

first

and second

segments and progressing regularly backward.

was no malaxation. second, and

and

first

In his second example the

segments were stung

nine stings being given in

In his

all,

third,

in the order given,

thereafter each succeeding segment

following.

There

up

to the ninth,

with careful malaxation

later experiments,

which seem

been numerous, he found that as a usual thing

to

have

all

the

segments were stung, although the posterior three or four were occasionally spared, but that the order in

which they were operated upon, as well as the amount of malaxation,

Our

was very

variable.

conclusions, then, as to

28

Ammophila's methods of

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS stinging agree fairly well with those of is

Fabre

;

but there

one important exception. In his cases the middle seg-

ments, upon one of which the egg

is

laid in

our species

as well as in his, were in-

variably stung,

and

he

this

considers a point of extreme

In one of our

importance.

cases the middle segments CATERPILLAR WITH EGG OF

Were not touched.

AMMOPHILA URNARIA

The

point in which our

observations differ most widely from those of Fabre

is

in the condition of the caterpillars after the stinging.

He

seems

to

have found that they always lived a long

time, but in a motionless or nearly motionless state

and he dwells

at length

upon

;

the necessity of both of

these conditions, since he believes that while the

larva tion

must have

perfectly fresh food,

would imperil

wasp any violent mo-

As a matter

its safety.

of fact

we

found a wide variation in the thoroughness with which the wasps performed their task.

We

had, in

all,

fifteen

upon which urnaria had worked her will and while a few of them fulfilled to a nicety the concaterpillars

ditions

;

which Fabre believes

them were

far

from doing

three days, others a

little

so.

to

be imperative, most of

Some

longer, while

29

of

them

still

lived only

others showed

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL signs of

end of two weeks. Urnaria

at the

life

stores

more than one instance

the

second one died and became discolored before the

first

two

and

caterpillars,

in

one was entirely eaten.

The wasp

might have been expected, find

larva did not, as

fault with this arrange-

ment, but proceeded to attack number two with good appetite, ate

it

all

up, and then spun

cocoon as

its

though nothing unpleasant had occurred.

The second

condition was also violated.

In one case

the bite of the newly hatched larva caused the caterpillar to rear

upon end

though the

Another

little

in so violent a

manner

that

it

looked as

creature would surely be dislodged.

caterpillar kept

up a continuous wriggling withwhen it was touched it

out any external stimulation, and rolled

and

about almost as these

yet the egg

was not shaken

which received but a less,

fectly, lying

do

in a healthy state,

off.

The

caterpillar

single sting, although not motion-

would have been a

either of these.

larvae

Others

safer repository for the egg than fulfilled

Fabre's condition per-

immovable except when stimulated, and then

responding only by a slight quivering of the legs or skin.

Among

the fifteen caterpillars that

we have taken

from the nests of urnaria three kinds are represented, twelve of them belonging to one species, two to the second, and one to the third.

30

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS The

which

upon the side of the sixth or seventh segment, hatches in from two to three days; the larva spends from six days to two weeks in eating, and egg,

then spins

The

its

laid

pale yellowish cocoon.

nesting habits of urnaria closely resemble those

of the other

members

ous observers. in

is

The

spot chosen

open ground, but

leaves of

some

of the genus, as reported

plant.

in firm soil,

is

much more The

plan

by

vari-

sometimes

frequently under the is

a very simple one.

NEST OF AMMOPHILA

A

tunnel of about an inch in length leads to the pocket

in

which the

caterpillars are stored.

ing of the walls in any part. every nest that

We

we opened, and

siderable variation in the

minor

There

is

no harden-

took pains to draw

was a very con-

there details,

such as the ob-

liquity of the entrance tunnel, the shape of the pocket,

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL and the angle

at

which the tunnel and pocket were

joined.

The work legs.

is

done with the mandibles and the

When it has proceeded so far

hidden, she begins to

In doing

this she

flying a little

first

that the

wasp is partly carry the earth away from the nest.

backs up to the edge of the opening and,

way, gives a

sort of

flirt

which throws the

pellet that she carries in her mandibles to a distance.

She then alights where she fore she runs

back

back on the wing.

is

and pauses a moment

to the hole, or, in

some

be-

cases, darts

We watched the process of nest-mak-

ing five times during the

summer. In the

Ammophila, having made her

instance

first

excavation, ran

and

off

some search returned with a good- sized lump of earth. This she laid over the opening, which was now after

entirely hidden.

She then flew

by, but after ten minutes she

to the

bean patch

close

came back and looked

at

her nest. It was so neatly covered as to be almost indistinguishable, but to this fastidious

little

creature some-

thing seemed lacking.

She pulled away the cover,

ried out three or four

more

loads,

car-

and then began

to

search for another piece for closing.

After a time she

came hurrying back with a lump of

earth, but

close to the nest she

dropped

it,

and ran

concluded that

off in

it

would not

another direction. 32

when do,

Presently

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS she found one which fitted into the hole exactly, and after placing

it

she brought a

much

she put above and to one side.

and surveyed the whole, and

it

smaller piece which

She then stood back

seemed

to us that

we

could read pride and satisfaction in her mien. She then flew away,

and we supposed

was completed. however,

that that stage of the

Upon coming back two

we found

that she

had been

improvements, as a number of

little

trying

some more

pellets

had been

succeeded in finding a caterpillar, since

burrow a few days

came

later,

This wasp, by the way, never

piled up over the nest.

the

hours

work

later

it

was

still

when we opened empty. Perhaps

some untimely end. Of the other wasps that we saw making a temporary

she

to

closure of their nests, one

deep down

into the

wedged a good-sized stone

neck of the burrow and then

the space above, solidly, with smaller stones

Another placed two lumps of earth

just

and

filled

earth.

below the

sur-

face of the ground, filled the opening with pellets loosely

thrown whole.

in,

fitted neatly into the

Although

it

nest closed while she is

light dust over the

The others used only two or three lumps of earth,

which they surface.

and then kicked some

no invariable rule

is

opening just below the

usual for urnaria to leave her

is off

searching for her prey, there

in the matter,

33

even for single individ-

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

Once having seen a wasp dig her nest and close it we drew some radiating lines from the spot, in the

uals.

up,

light dust that

When we

again.

we might

covered the place, that

find

returned, two hours later, the

it

same

wasp had made a nest four or five inches distant from the first one, and had left it wide open, while she had gone off to

search for her caterpillar.

She had probably been

alarmed by the marks that we had made, and had it

new

necessary to dig a

lay her egg

We

nest,

felt

but being in a hurry to

had omitted the usual process

of closing

it.

witnessed the storing of the caterpillar and the final

closing.

From Fabre we

learn

close the nest as soon as

the provisioning

is

to

He

it

argentata and sabulosa

has been made, at least when

be postponed until the next day,

while holosericea leaves stored.

that

it

open

until

suggests an explanation

it

is

completely

for this variation

by dwelling upon the inconvenience that would it

result

were opened every time that the wasp brought

caterpillar, since holosericea stores larvae instead of

shall

out?

five

in a

or six small

one or two large ones. But what, then,

be said of polita and yarrowii, which, while they

also store a close

up

if

number

of small caterpillars, take pains to

and conceal the entrance every time they come We see the same habit in other genera where the 34

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS mother continually passes in and out, as

in

Bembex

and Oxybelus. Fabre thinks that hirsuta has the habit, unusual

for

Ammophila, of catching her prey first and then digging the hole in which she bestows it. As she takes only one large caterpillar she

closing the nest

As has been

is

thus relieved of the necessity of

more than once. said, urnaria usually

hunts a long time

before she finds her caterpillar, and one or two days

may

pass before anything

During

prolonged search she often revisits the spot, and

this

thus keeps fresh the the

put into the nest.

is

first

caterpillar

memory

is

of

came under our

As soon

stored she lays an egg on

few hours

notice

we

it,

as

and

The second one may be

then closes the nest as before.

brought in within a

its locality.

;

but in one instance that

feel sure that the interval

We saw the interment of the

was as much as three days.

second caterpillar, and upon excavating, found on the first

least

one a larva at

least

a day old;

we suppose

that at

two days had elapsed between the laying and the

hatching of the egg.

When

the provisioning

is

completed the time arrives

for the final closing of the nest

;

and

in this, as in all the

Ammophila, the character of the work differs with the individual. For example, of two wasps that processes of

35

WASPS, SOCIAL we saw

close their nests

two or three little it

dust,

all

by a

AND SOLITARY

on the same day, one wedged

pellets into the top of the hole,

and then smoothed the surface

within five minutes. spirit of

was an

first filling

over, finishing

This one seemed possessed

hurry and bustle, and did not believe in

spending time on non-essentials. trary,

kicked in a

artist,

an

idealist.

The

other,

on the con-

She worked for an hour,

the neck of the burrow with fine earth which

was jammed down with much energy,

this part of the

work being accompanied by a loud and cheerful humand next arranging the surface of the ground ming, with scrupulous care, and sweeping every particle of dust to a distance.

Even then she was not

went scampering around, hunting for some to

crown the whole.

leaf to the spot,

and embarrassed

First she tried to

satisfied,

but

fitting object

drag a withered

but the long stem stuck in the ground her.

Relinquishing

this,

she ran along

a branch of the plant under which she was working and,

up from the ground below a goodbut the effort was too much for her, and she

leaning over, picked sized stone

;

turned a somersault on to the ground. to bring a large

lump

of earth

;

She then started

but this evidently did not

come up to her ideal, for she dropped it after a moment, and seizing another dry leaf carried it successfully to the spot

and placed

it

directly over the nest.

36

A

third

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS was interme-

instance of the final closing of the nest

between these two, the work occupying twenty

diate

The wasp

minutes.

dropped

of fine earth,

We

put a plug well down, then

first

in several large pellets,

and

finally

brushed in a quantity

smoothed the surface

had another much

less

worthy example, one,

deed, that went to the extreme of carelessness.

saw her

in the

little

morning carrying her

She frequently dropped

the field.

distance,

over.

We first

caterpillar across

and ran or flew

it

and when she took

it

in-

to a

again the venter

was sometimes up and sometimes down, whichever

way

it

happened.

Her

beneath the surface, in, it

was

visible

was a very poor affair just and after the caterpillar was carried

from above.

loose particles of earth

of the

ground a

nest

little

different as possible

She

filled

the hole with

and then scratched the surface

in a perfunctory sort of

way, as

from the painstaking labor that

we had been accustomed to

That afternoon

in her sisters.

we opened the nest and removed its contents. The next morning we saw this wasp bringing home her second caterpillar.

She was much puzzled and disturbed

destruction of her nest,

and a by.

and hunted

half, leaving the caterpillar

We

for

37

for

at the

an hour

on the ground near

could not help feeling sorry that

rupted the contented routine of her

it

life.

we had

She

inter-

finally

gave

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL up

in despair,

and we took possession of the deserted

caterpillar.

Just here must be told the story of one

whose individuality stands out

in

little

wasp

our minds more

dis-

than that of any of the others.

We

remember

her as the most fastidious and perfect

little

worker of

tinctly

the whole season, so nice

means love,

to

and

In

filling

bit

away

was she

in her adaptation of

ends, so busy and contented

in her labor of

so pretty in her pride over the completed work.

up her

nest she put her head

down

into

the loose earth from the sides, letting

the bottom of the burrow,

and

had accumulated, jammed

down with

it

it

was

level

and

fall to

then, after a quantity

her head. Earth

was then brought from the outside and pressed then more was bitten from the sides. When, at filling

it

in,

and

last,

the

with the ground, she brought a quantity

of fine grains of dirt to the spot,

pebble in her mandibles, used as

and picking up a small it

a

hammer

in

pound-

ing them down with rapid strokes, thus making this spot as hard and firm as the surrounding surface. Before

we could

recover from our astonishment at this

performance she had dropped her stone and was bringing

more

earth.

We

then threw ourselves

ground that not a motion might be

lost,

down on and

in a

the

mo-

ment we saw her pick up the pebble and again pound 7

38

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS the earth into place with

it,

hammering now here and Once more the whole pro-

now

there until

cess

was repeated, and then the

all

was

level.

little

creature, all un-

conscious of the commotion that she had aroused in

AMMOPHILA URNARIA USING STONE TO POUND DOWN EARTH OVER NEST

our minds,

and

- -

unconscious, indeed, of our very existence

intent only

gave one

final,

on doing her work and doing

it

well,

comprehensive glance around and flew

away.

We are claiming a great deal for Ammophila when we say that she improvised a tool and

39

made

intelligent use

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL of

it,

for such actions are rare even

among

the higher

animals; but fortunately our observation does not stand alone, although

time that

it

we supposed

of a similar occurrence

University,

be the case at the

this to

was made. Some weeks

we wrote

by Dr.

to

W. Williston,

S.

him on

seeing a note

later,

of

Kansas

the subject. In his reply

he said that he had waited for a year before venturing

remarkable a

to publish his observation, fearing that so

statement would not be credited. teresting that

we quote

it

His account

is

so in-

at length.

Even the casual observer,

to

whom

all

insects are bugs,

cannot help but be struck by the great diversity and

number is

of the fossorial

Hymenoptera

of the plains.

often inaccessible, trees there are few or none,

in places is the vegetation at all

abundant.

proportion of insects, hence, find

breed

in holes in the

favored

localities.

Especially

is

A much larger

necessary to live or

it

ground, than

is

this

the case in

made by

more

the case with the

Hymenoptera, great numbers and many species thus breed in excavations

Water

and only

of

which

themselves.

While packing specimens on an open space, uncovered by buffalo grass, in the extreme western part of Kansas, the early part of last July, the attention of a friend and

myself was attracted by the numerous wasps that were constantly alighting upon the ground.

baked surface showed no indications it

was not

till

we had

attentively

40

The

hard, smooth

of disturbance,

and

watched the insects that

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS we learned what they were

The wasp

doing.

is

a very

slender one, more than an inch in length, with a slender,

abdomen

pedicellate

Ammophila

;

known

is

it

yarrowii Cres.

to

entomologists as

They were so numerous that

one was distracted by their very singling out different individuals,

multiplicity,

we were enabled

by

but,

to verify

each detail of their operations. An insect, alighting, ran about on the smooth, hard surface till it had found a suitable spot to begin

its

excavation, which was

made about

a

quarter of an inch in diameter, nearly vertical, and carried to a depth of about four inches, as

a

number

into a

of them.

rounded

pellet

The and

was shown by opening was formed

earth, as removed,

carefully carried to the neighbor-

ing grass and dropped. For the first half of an inch or so the hole was made of a slightly greater diameter. When the excavation had been carried to the required depth, the

wasp, after a survey of the premises, flying away, soon returned with a large pebble in carefully deposited

its

mandibles, which

within the opening;

over the entrance upon her four posterior she, for

it

was evident

it

then, standing feet,

she (I say

that they were all females) rapidly

and most amusingly scraped the dust with her two front feet, "hand over hand," back beneath her, till she had filled

the hole above the stone to the top.

The operation

so far was remarkable enough, but the next procedure

more

so.

When

faction, she

she had heaped up the dirt to her

was

satis-

again flew away and immediately returned

with a smaller pebble, perhaps an eighth of an inch in diameter, and then standing

41

more nearly

erect, with the

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

front feet folded beneath her, she pressed all

down

the dust

over and about the opening, smoothing off the surface,

and accompanying the action with a peculiar rasping sound. After all this was done, and she spent several minutes each time in thus stamping the earth so that only a keen eye could detect any abrasion of the surface, she laid aside the little

flight,

pebble and flew away to be gone some

Soon, however, she comes back with a heavy

minutes.

scarcely able to sustain the soft green larva, as long

The

as herself, that she brings.

ground, a

little

to

one

side,

larva

when, going

is

upon the where

laid

to the spot

she had industriously labored, by a few, rapid strokes she

throws out the dust and withdraws the stone cover, laying it

Next, the larva is dragged down the hole, where for a few minutes, afterwards returning remains wasp

aside.

the

and closing up the entrance precisely as before. This, we thought, was the end, and supposed that the wasp would

now be

off

about her other

affairs,

but not so

returns with another larva, precisely like the

;

soon she

first,

and the

whole operation is again repeated. And not only the second time, but again and again, till four or five of the larvae have been stored up for the sustainment of her future Once, while a wasp had gone down the hole with a larva, my friend quietly removed the door stone that offspring.

she had placed by the entrance.

about for her door, but not finding the honesty of

leaving her this

Returning, she looked it,

apparently mistrusted

a neighbor, which had just descended,

own door temptingly

pebble and was making

off

42

with

near. it,

She purloined

when

the rightful

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS owner appeared and gave chase, compelling her

to relin-

it.

quish

The

things that struck us as most remarkable were the

unerring judgment in the selection of a pebble of precisely the right size to fit the entrance, and the use of the small

pebble

in

smoothing down and packing the

over the

soil

opening, together with the instinct that taught

remove every evidence

that

had

earth

the

them

been

to

dis-

turbed.

Since the first

Ammophiles

and then do

of our species

their hunting

it

make

their nests

follows that they

must

sometimes carry their prey for a considerable distance.

The most ambitious attempt of this kind witnessed was made by gracilis. The wasp was pillar,

first

which projected

it,

We

could not

we

ever

seen carrying a large green cater-

body, across the potato den.

that

tell

at both ends field at

how

beyond her own

the lower end of the gar-

far she

had already brought

but judging by the direction from which she was

coming, and by the fact that

we had never

species of caterpillar in the garden, she

come through moved along potato

field,

the fence from the

seen that

had probably

woods beyond.

She

briskly over the remaining part of the

and then through an adjoining bean patch This had been a place of much anx-

into the corn field.

iety to us earlier in the

summer but now ;

43

the corn

had

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

been stacked and we could follow her without

So far she had been going due south

;

but

difficulty.

now

she

made

a turn and plunged into the long, tangled grass which

grew around and among some

overgrown rasp-

large,

berry bushes.

To

keep track of her here seemed a hope-

but

we

resolved to do our best,

less task,

The wasp worked

anxiously after.

two inches above the

and followed

way along about ground and very much below the her

top of the grass, clinging to the blades with her feet and

making

When

surprisingly good progress.

half

way

through the raspberry bushes she carried the caterpillar

up on

to a branch, deposited

it

there,

and

after circling

about to take her bearings, flew away, doubtless to her nest and to

make

visit

sure that she was going in the right

direction.

We,

ourselves,

tired eyes

The

were very glad of the chance

and nerves from the

to rest

strain of following her.

journey, so far, had occupied nearly an hour, at

almost every instant of which

it

had been exceedingly

difficult to

keep her in view. But for our united

we should

certainly have failed.

While standing guard over the that first

our

it

moved

its

head from side

caterpillar

to side,

we

efforts

noticed

showing that the

segment could not have been severely stung, as

usually the case in the

work 44

of urnaria.

is

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS In

five

minutes the wasp returned, and, with the air of

feeling that everything

and carried

it

was

right,

picked up her burden

laboriously through the remaining bushes

and then through the grassy space that edged the garden, as far as the rail fence which separated this part of the grounds from the woods. Without a pause she climbed

on

to this fence to the height of the

second

through, and flew down on the further

paused a moment, perhaps

to

?

We

passed

Here she

Whither was she

had now been following her

hour, and she looked equal to as

much

and the

became evident

we could pillar

again as she

laid

Soon, however,

easy.

down

flew away.

It

it

The

cater-

while the wasp absented herself for

She returned and carried

and then

was

that things were going wrong, although

left it for

came back, and

carried

half

it

it

an hour.

for fifteen

o'clock,

min-

Once more she

for ten minutes,

was now four

following her since two. for

was

not determine what was the matter.

was

six minutes.

utes,

traveling

an

for over

started off once more, rapidly this time, for the grass

short here

we

take breath, and

looked at each other in some dismay. leading us

rail,

side.

and then she

and we had been

We watched over the caterpillar

an hour longer, but saw no more of the wasp.

Did she become discouraged at the magnitude of her task? It would have been a thousand times easier for 45

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

her to have dug her nest close by the place of capture,

but perhaps she had one larva already stored with her

egg upon

it.

and sixty-one

known

The

was carried two hundred

caterpillar

feet while

we watched

an un-

her, with

distance at each end to complete the line between

the place of capture

and the

nest.

She could scarcely

have lost her way, since at every return she proceeded

on

her journey in one general direction without any hesitation.

It

seems probable then that she had hunted too

far afield,

booty, nest.

and did not

realize,

what an undertaking

it

when

she started with her

would be

to carry

it

to the

We once saw A. vulgaris have a similar experience.

She was running along with a small green

caterpillar,

but became discouraged either at the difficulty of finding her nest, or at the distance she had to cover. She would carry the caterpillar a

a while, and then pick

little

way, drop

it,

circle

about

but finally she gave

up again and flew away. up The affairs of Ammophila must frequently go wrong, since in still another of our few examples we saw much it

;

the whole undertaking

trouble

and labor wasted.

The wasp,

in this case

an

urnaria, captured her caterpillar successfully and pro-

ceeded to carry

it off.

She was far from being

going along for a foot or

so,

in a hurry,

and then making a long

pause, during which she would lay

it

down and

either

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS above

circle

it,

perhaps to take bearings, or spend the

time in cleaning herself

stroking and smoothing

off,

every part of her body with the utmost care and deliber-

Her

ation.

nearly an hour

When,

feet.

and

stops were so frequent

was occupied

at last, the nest

in going

about twenty-five

was reached, the plug was

removed from the entrance and the in,

so lengthy that

dragged

caterpillar

but almost immediately the wasp came out back-

wards with the point of an egg projecting from the

ex-

tremity of her abdomen. She ran around and around the nest in a distracted

way

four or five times and then went

back, dragged the caterpillar out, and carried

it

The egg came out further and further, and dropped on the ground and was lost. The wasp,

away. finally

carry-

ing the caterpillar, led us a long dance, in a great semicircle

over the

field,

Instead of going

in,

coming back

to the nest at last.

however, she was about to

start off

on another tour when we took her prey from her and it

placed

in the nest.

The wasp remained

borhood for over an hour, but nest

was not

lowing day put

it

closed,

in the neigh-

The

finally disappeared.

and when we dug

it

up on the

contained only the caterpillar that

fol-

we had

in.

We could usually enter into the feelings of the Ammophiles

and understand the meaning 47

of their actions

;

but

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL we were puzzled

when we saw an urnaria

once,

stored her second caterpillar

and closed her nest perma-

nently, spend the rest of her morning in hunting.

She had not dug a

in hunting?

had

that

Why

nest, she could not lay

another egg at once, she did not want a caterpillar, for

when we offered her one she stung it and then left it lying on the ground. The sun was bright, the sorrel-blossoms invited her. tional

and

wasp

Surely to

it

would have been the part of a

have passed the

rest of the

fun.

We

have said that urnaria stores two

this rule is not

without

its

exception.

day of the summer that on a ful potato field,

visit to

we came upon

that at once attracted attention.

and

closing her nest,

It

caterpillars,

but

was on the

last

our dear and

flying, a

She was

loud

seemed improbable

hum

just complet-

and we determined

watch

to

and see what kind of a victim she would bring it

fruit-

a wasp of almost double

made, when

the ordinary size, that

ing

day

ra-

in feasting

that this great creature

in,

as

would

content herself with the ordinary fare of the species.

The opening

to the nest

measured half an inch

in dia-

meter. It

was eleven o'clock when she

flew away. At half past

twelve she reappeared, coming from the direction of the

woods, opened her

nest,

and took out a few more

pellets.

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS Then

she flew to a bush which grew against the fence,

and following her quickly we saw an immense green caterpillar placed high up on a branch. three feet away,

must have taken both strength and perseverance

It lift it

this

at

to

heavy weight so far from the ground. She seized

once and carried

it

down, not

flying, as these

wasps

sometimes do when they are descending with a burden,

and then dragged tightly.

it

into her nest,

where

it

fitted rather

This nest was so shallow and so obliquely

was

rected that the caterpillar

been taken

plainly visible after

it

di-

had

in.

After she had laid her egg she crawled out, getting past the caterpillar with nest.

There was

it

certainly

difficulty,

would furnish

sufficient

We

To

nourishment even

were, therefore, not

upon more had been brought.

that nothing

ing.

we

opening the nest two days later, to find

surprised,

wasp

store

size of the caterpillar

for the offspring of this wasp.

the

and closed the

no room for any further

and from the

of provisions,

judged that

some

larvae

spend from

be more exact,

six

days to two weeks in eat-

that

all

We have said that

we watched, with

the

exception of the one which developed from the egg of this big creature, ate

spun

their cocoons

reach the size of

;

its

from

six to eight

days and then

but this one seemed determined to

mother, and ate continuously for 49

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL Of

fourteen days.

course long before this time had ex-

become a

pired the remnant of the caterpillar had

dark- colored mass which looked

little

likely to

away with unabated

appetite, but the great larva ate

and almost the

relish, gradually acquiring the color

thickness of the caterpillar

Ammophila country,

is

common

On

of Milwaukee. clear weather,

had destroyed.

which we have never seen

polita,

very

it

in the

sandy

half a dozen individuals work-

similar to that of A. yarrowii, described

tion stage

food

all

especial interest, as

method being

very

;

it

by Dr.

Willis-

shows a

transi-

between the wasps that provide the store of

at

once and those that feed their young

through the larval period. prey

south

the tenth of September, in bright

we found

and having an

in the

fields to the

ing within a few rods of each other, their

ton,

dry,

tempt the

Urnaria rarely

flies

all

with her

but this wasp, although her caterpillars, are not

much

smaller,

and she

herself

is

no

larger, carries

her booty lightly on the wing, alighting only occasionally to

run a few

urnaria, taking

and

this

steps.

She has

to

do more work than

five or six caterpillars instead of two,

method

of progression has the advantage of

rapidity.

The

first

wasp

medium-sized

that

we saw was

just alighting with

a

green caterpillar near a partly closed 50

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS nest.

When

disturbed she flew away, but soon returned,

dropped her prey half an inch from the to clear the

nest,

opening, ran inside to see that

and then backed

in with the caterpillar.

all

proceeded

was

right,

Emerging

after

a few minutes, she placed a small pebble in the doorway,

which was thus partly

closed,

and flew away.

She

brought three more caterpillars at intervals of thirty minutes, and then, after wedging a pebble into the neck of the opening, she in dirt

began

to

and packing in lumps

We

in her mandibles. this operation, as

it

fill it

in solidly, scratching

of earth

which were brought

did not allow her to complete

would have made excavation more

but caught her and dug out the nest.

difficult,

tunnel ran

down

obliquely for five inches, being two

inches below the surface at the pocket. a

wasp

larva,

which was

four caterpillars.

The

In

it

we found

at least three days old,

and

There were no signs of the banquet-

must have already taken place. We carried larva home with us, and it ate the caterpillars up

ing which this

clean, finishing with a fifth

another nest, and going into sixteenth.

The

caterpillars

slightest stimulation,

until they species.

were eaten.

which we supplied from its

all

cocoon on September wriggled about on the

and remained

in this lively state

They belonged

to four different

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

In a second nest to which food was being carried, we

found four caterpillars and a larva about three days old, all the conditions

ample.

being like those in the other ex-

Evidently the larva had been fed from day to

day, since four or five days must have elapsed since the

making of the nest. Westwood states that Ammophila, when she has captured her prey, walks backward, dragging

but in

all

the cases that

came under our

it

after her;

1

notice she went

forward, the caterpillar being grasped near the anterior end, in her mandibles,

or allowed to drag a

and

either lifted

little if

above the ground

long and heavy.

It is

usually

held venter up, but in one case, in which the wasp,

while carrying

and picked or

up

The

it

it

up

to her nest, frequently laid

again,

it

it

down

was held with the venter down

indifferently.

all-important lesson that Fabre draws from his

study of the

Ammophiles

is

that they are inspired by

automatically perfect instincts, which can never have varied to any appreciable extent from the beginning of

He

time.

argues that deviation from the regular rule

would mean

extinction.

sting ever so

little

to

For example,

if

the

wasp should

one side of the median

line the

prey would be imperfectly paralyzed and the egg would 1

Introduction to

Modern

Classification of Insects,

52

ii,

189.

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS consequently be destroyed;

or a sting in the

wrong

place might cause the death of the caterpillar and thus the death of the

wasp

he thinks, can be

larva, which,

nourished only by perfectly fresh food.

The genus

we draw from

conclusions that differ

The one

from these

in the

the study of this

most striking manner.

preeminent, unmistakable, and ever present

the shape of the nest

and the manner

of digging

the condition of the nest (whether closed or open) left

temporarily, in the

method

the degree of malaxation, in the victim, in the

-

Variability in every particular,

fact is variability.

way

most important of

victims of the stinging,

manner

in the condition

some

ing "veritable cadavers," to Fabre's, long before the larva

it,

in

in

when

of stinging the prey, in of carrying the

of closing the nest,

all,

-

and

last,

produced

and

in the

them dying and becomuse an expressive term of

of

is

ready to begin on them,

while others live long past the time at which they would

have been attacked and destroyed

if

we had

fered with the natural course of events. variability

we

caterpillars

get

not inter-

And

all this

from a study of nine wasps and

fifteen

!

In his chapter on "Methode des Ammophiles" Fabre says that each species has novitiate.

its

own

"Not one could have 53

tactics,

left

allowing no

descendants

if

it

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

were not the handy workman of to-day. Any

when

impracticable it."

And

slightly that

verely that

a break

we

yet it

the future of the race depends

find that the prey

made

upon

be stung so

may

can rear and wriggle violently or so

dies almost at once,

it

little slip is

and

in neither case

in the generations of the

since in the former the egg or larva

is

its

composing

caterpillar

is

Ammophiles,

so firmly fastened

hold, while in the latter the dead

as to keep

se-

and

de-

eaten without dissatisfaction or

is

injury.

Nor do

we, in gathering evidence for the evolution of

the instincts of these wasps, need to rely entirely

our

own

observations.

which point

Fabre himself gives many

same

in the

and unvarying

instinct

facts

he draws a

direction, but

between those actions which are the

upon

result of

line

mechanical

and those which come within the

sphere of reason, and in relation to which the insect must consider, compare, light of his

and judge. Yet

own work,

is

readjustment with every the individuals of the

the

meaning which

even in the

so extremely variable, needing

new

same it

this line,

species

and often among

species, that

has for

its

it

loses for others

author.

He

himself

speaks of certain individuals of the genus Sphex which refuse to be distance.

duped when he withdraws

These, he says, are the 54

their prey to a

elite,

the strong-

AMMOPHILA AND HER CATERPILLARS headed ones, which are able the action

to recognize the malice of

and govern themselves accordingly, but these

revolutionists, apt at progress,

in

he goes on to say, are few

numbers. The others, the conservators of old usages

and customs, are the majority, the crowd. Yes, but

is it

not always the strong-minded few that direct the destiny of a race

?

Chapter III THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER wasp (Sphex ichneumonea Linn.)

THIS our most

beautiful species,

brilliant color, as

make

it

well

it

known

the later part of July, early days of

among

flies

its

great size

one of

and

During

through August, and even

September

it

is

its

the flowers, serving to

to all observers of nature. all

is

commonly found

at

in the

work

making or storing its burrow. It is rare in our garden, however, and we thought ourselves fortunate in being able to keep track of one individual from the

Although large and powerful

the closing of the nest. is

gracefully formed.

making

In color

it is

to it

brown, varied with

bright yellow.

On the

morning of the third of August,

ten o'clock, nest

we saw one

of these hunters start to dig a

on the side of a stony

gress in the

hill.

After making some pro-

work she flew off and

selected a second place,

where she dug so persistently that we this

was

to

at a little after

felt

be her final resting-place; but 56

confident that

when

the hole

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER was two and one half inches deep,

it

too

was

deserted.

Again our wasp chose a spot and began to burrow. She worked very rapidly, and at twenty minutes before twelve

was three inches deep. At high noon she flew away, and was gone forty minutes. The day was excessively hot, about 98 Fahr., and we ourselves were only the hole

deterred from taking a noonday rest by our fixed deter-

mination not

was

there

On

to

to leave the place until

we had

seen

all

that

be seen in the manoeuvres of ichneumonea.

returning she appeared very

much

excited, fairly

quivering with vitality as she resumed her work.

She

came up backward, carrying the earth with her mouth and anterior legs, and went back from the opening some little

distance,

went in again.

humming, in the

In

was dropped, and she at once While in the burrow we could hear her

when

just as the Pelopaei

do when, head downward

wet mud, they gather their loads for nest-building.

five or six trips

late,

it

a

little

and then she would

kick the particles

mass lie

of earth

quite

flat

would accumu-

on the heap and

in all directions.

As

the

work

progressed the

away earth was

away before

was placed on the ground, and as she

backed

it

carried further

in different directions the material

and further

brought out

was well spread about from the down-hill side of the nest.

Sometimes she would spend several moments 57

in

WASPS, SOCIAL smoothing the debris presented

much

all

AND SOLITARY around, so that the opening

the appearance of an

only the particles were

much

immense

larger.

ant-hill,

During the

first

hour that we watched her she frequently turned directly

toward

us, and,

sometimes remaining on the ground and

sometimes rising on her wings to a appeared

Her

level

with our faces,

be eyeing us intently for four or

to

attitude

was comical, and she seemed

five seconds.

to

be saying,

what are you hanging around here for?' As the afternoon wore on she worked more calmly and her fidgety and excited manner disappeared, the :

'Well,

excavation progressing steadily until half-past three.

At that time she came out and walked slowly about front of her nest circled just

and

above

around

it.

Then

she rose and

gradually widening her

it,

going further afield

all

and now

flying in

flight,

and not

The

object near her nest

was

until her tour of observation

had

detailed survey of every ;

now

and out among

the plants and bushes in the immediate vicinity.

remarkable

in

little

carried her five times entirely around the spot did she

appear

satisfied

that she

and

fly

away.

was studying the

All her actions

locality

ings before taking her departure.

us very

much was

showed

and getting her bear-

A

fact that

impressed

that with the two nests that she

had

begun and then deserted she had taken no such precau58

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER tion,

but simply came up and flew

up her mind, the localities

off.

Had

she

made

we may be allowed to use the term, were in some way unsuitable and

that

if

hence she had no occasion to return to them ?

that

Had

she

THOROUGH LOCALITY STUDY BY SPHEX decided, in the last instance, that she would return and so

must

get her bearings

different acts

were

an evidence of a

?

We

wondered how

instinctive, or were, as

"little

far the

Huber has

dose of judgment."

it,

Bates, in

speaking of Monedula signata, says that he often noticed

it

taking a few turns about the locality of

and that he was convinced that purpose of getting

its

bearings.

59

it

was doing

Belt,

its

nest,

so for the

having described

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL how he

fed a specimen of Polistes carnifex with a cater-

which the wasp cut

pillar,

"Being

at the time

climbing plant,

it

this,

it

hovered in front of

I thought

foliage

down which

:

half.

To

few seconds, then

then larger ones around

had gone, but

it

returned

opening in the dense

at the

when

the

wasp came back

flew straight to

any further note of the believe that

to say

the other half of the caterpillar lay."

then remarks that it

for a

it

it,

it

and had another look

remaining half

on

was leaving the other

it

again,

He

parts, goes

proceeded, before flying away, to take

took small circles in front of the whole plant.

two

amidst a thick mass of fine-leaved

note of the place where

do

into

its

locality.

1

for the

nest without taking

Both of these writers

of the actions of insects that are

many

ascribed to instinct are really evidence of the possession of a certain

To

amount

return to

of intelligence.

When

our Sphex.

urally supposed that she

had gone

and we were on the qui vive actions half

when

an hour

she

she flew

away we

nat-

in search of her prey,

to observe every step in her

came home. Alas when she came back

later,

!

she was empty-handed.

She dug for

and was gone two minutes, then returned and worked for thirty-five minutes. Anfour minutes, then flew off

other two minutes' excursion, and then she settled 1

Naturalist in Nicaragua,

60

p. 136.

down

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER to

work

in

good earnest and brought up load

of earth until the

shadows grew

We

long.

on these

later trips she flew directly

upon her

first

after load

noticed that

away, depending

careful study of the surroundings to find

way back. At fifteen minutes after five the patient worker came to the surface, and made a second study, her

HASTY LOCALITY STUDY BY SPHEX this

time not so detailed, of the environment.

this

way and

low, far

and

that, in

near,

and out among the

and

She flew

plants, high

and

at last, satisfied, rose in circles,

higher and higher, and disappeared from view.

waited for her return with

all

61

We

the patience at our com-

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL mand, from

fifteen

minutes after

We

utes before seven.

sure that

felt

min-

five until fifteen

back she would bring her victim with

when

her,

she

came

and when we

saw her approaching we threw ourselves prone on the ground, eagerly expecting to see the end of the drama ;

but her search had been unsuccessful, nothing.

-

-

she carried

In the realms of wasp-life, disappointments

uncommon, and this time she had us to share her chagrin, for we felt as tired and discouraged as she are not

perhaps did

herself.

When we saw

any provision for her future

what

to

do next

;

was shared by her

and

offspring,

may

be that

also, for she at

entrance to her nest.

and decided

it

her entering without

We now

to capture her, to

one of our wasp-cages, and

we were

at

this state of

once began to thought

it

fill

a

loss

mind in the

time to

act,

keep her over night in

to try to

induce her to

turn to her duty on the following day.

We

re-

therefore

secured her in a large bottle, carried her to the cottage,

and having made every possible arrangement comfort,

On

left

for her

her for the night.

the next morning, at half after eight o'clock,

we

took Lady Sphex down to her home, and placed the mouth of the bottle so that when she came out she had to enter the nest.

ever, only a

This she

did,

remaining below, how-

moment. When she came up 62

to the surface

tf

' l '

r l!W w#w'''iF^^

'l/|J|ii

/ii'*

'^ji'iillli^^^^^^^ll'

?; i;//!i M'V' "viiiirytiW' Iliw ;

i.

;

Vj^-=rso^/Wn^^

SPHEX DRAGGING GRASSHOPPER TO HER NEST

1)

^k\ .PIJJHI'?

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER she stood

still

and looked about

then flew away.

It

few seconds, and

for a

surprised us that having been ab-

sent from the place for so

many

study of the locality as she had done before. it

made no

hours, she

We thought

a very unpromising sign, and had great fears that she

was deserting the place and that we should see her no more. One would need to watch a wasp through the long hours of a broiling hot day to appreciate the joy

we

that

felt

when

at nine o'clock

She had no

back.

we saw her coming

difficulty in finding

her nest, nor did

she feel any hesitation as to what ought to be done next,

but

fell

work

to

at

weather, although threatening that

moment, but

Load

still

hot,

seemed

dirt.

The

had become cloudy and

we expected

this

after load

once at carrying out more

to

a

down-pour

make no

was brought up,

so

of rain every

difference to her.

until, at the

end of an

hour, everything seemed completed to her satisfaction.

She came

and now

to the entrance

and flew about, now

this

way,

that, repeating the locality study in the most

thorough manner, and then went away.

At the expira-

an hour we saw her approaching with a large green meadow-grasshopper, which was held in the

tion of light

mouth and supported by under.

On

the fore legs, which were folded

arriving, the prey

the entrance, while the

was placed, head

wasp went 65

in,

first,

near

probably to reas-

WASPS, SOCIAL sure herself that

all

was

AND SOLITARY

right.

Soon she appeared

at the

door of the nest and remained motionless for some mo-

Then

ments, gazing intently at her treasure.

(we thought by an antenna) she dragged

it

seizing

head

it

first

into the tunnel.

The

She

laying of the egg did not detain her long.

was up

in a

moment and began After a

into the nest.

could plainly hear her material

down with

little

at

once to throw earth

she went in herself, and

humming

her head.

we

as she

pushed the loose

When

she resumed the

work outside we interrupted her to catch a little fly that we had already driven off several times just as it was about to enter the flew away,

burrow.

and

placed on

its

back, with

end of the pocket and the

legs

into the tunnel.

found that the egg of the wasp, which was seven

millimeters long, and rather slender,

under face of the thorax

and

disturbed and

gave us an opportunity to open the

to the blind

protruding up

We

this

The Sphex was

The grasshopper was

head next

its

nest.

was placed on the

at a right angle to its length,

parallel with the femur of the second

had apparently been stung so that

it

leg.

This

leg

had swollen and

folded over the free end of the egg, which was thus firmly

held in place at both extremities. 1 1

Fabre says that

all

Upon examination

of the three species of

66

Sphex

that he has

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER we found

abdomen

that the

of the grasshopper

was

beat-

ing regularly and automatically, but the closest observation failed to discover any other movements, nor

would any part respond when stimulated.

we found

o'clock in the afternoon

pulsating, and, in addition, that

several times

when we

hopper was very

the next

was able

to

lift its

ward the head,

as

in the

and

grass-

labial palpi faeces,

and

abdomen, which was curved over it

lay on

its

On

to-

back, frequently and with

the next afternoon there

was

movements, but the egg was dead.

On

considerable violence.

no change

morning the

had passed

It

still

cover of the jar that

lively, the antennae

moving without stimulation.

abdomen

both antennae moved

lifted off the

"On

contained the insect.

the

At three

the seventh the grasshopper responded to stimulation

by a

slight

abdomen.

movement

The

of the palpi

and the end

of the

abdomen continued

pulsation of the

until the afternoon of the eighth,

when it

ceased, no effort

of ours succeeding in starting

again.

The movements

of the antennae

the ninth,

it

and palpi grew weaker and weaker on

and on the morning

of the tenth the insect

studied lay the egg on this identical place.

He places immense impor-

tance on this point, which seems to us rather fanciful. ticed the pulsation of the

abdomen and

parts.

67

the

movements

He

also no-

of the other

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL was dead, a period of since it was brought

We

five

and a

half days having elapsed

into the nest.

had not supposed

that the digging

up

of her nest

would much disturb our Sphex, since her connection with

it

was

When we

taken.

hour

after

we had done

and near

an end

;

but in this we were mis-

returned to the garden about half an

humming from

anxious far

so nearly at

the deed,

we heard

her loud and

She was searching

a distance.

for her treasure house, returning every

few

minutes to the right spot, although the upturned earth

had

entirely

changed

to believe her eyes,

its

appearance.

and her

the fact that her nest

persistent refusal to accept

had been destroyed was

She lingered about the garden

made

so

many

She seemed unable

through the day, and

all

visits to us, getting

under our umbrellas

and thrusting her tremendous personality faces, that we wondered if she were trying as to the whereabouts of her property. that

pathetic.

into our very to question us

Later we learned

we had wronged her more deeply than we knew.

Had we not interfered cells to the side of

in each.

Who

standing

among

the

she \vould have excavated several

main tunnel,

knows but perhaps our Golden Digger, the ruins of her home, or peering under

our umbrella, said to herself: I don't

storing a grasshopper

know why

"

Men

the world thinks so

68

are poor things;

much

of them."

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER Dr. Packard describes Sphex ichneumonea as nesting in gravelly walks,

where

to six inches, using its

it

digs to a depth of from four

jaws and fore legs

to

do the ex-

cavating. While the wasps that he observed completed the hole in half

an hour, ours was actually

Her

over four hours. as

is

shown

at

work a

little

nest,

in the drawing,

measured seven and one half inches to the beginning of the pocket, which

was three

quarters of an inch wide by

one and one half inches long.

The yellow-winged native of France,

by Fabre hours to

to

Sphex, a

was found

take

several

make her nest, work-

ing in hard ground

while

;

another species, also studied

by

this observer,

dug

earth, either in the

in soft

ground or

NEST OF SPHEX in the

accumulations on

and completed her work in fifteen the most. These variations in the habits of

the roofs of buildings,

minutes at

closely related

species

should be carefully studied in

any attempt toward an explanation of

their instincts.

Fabre's account of the genus Sphex, as

it

appears in

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL most

France,

is

winged

species,

He

interesting.

says that the yellow-

living in colonies, first digs her nest

and then secures her

cricket,

which

is

brought, on the

wing, to the neighborhood of the burrow, the last part of the journey being accomplished is

on

dragged by one of the antennae, and

the nest

is

reached. It

is

is

not

left until

then placed so that the antennae

reach precisely to the opening, and there the

The cricket

foot.

wasp descends hurriedly

it is

left

while

into the depths of the bur-

In a few seconds she reappears, showing her head

row.

outside, seizes the antennas of the cricket,

and drags

These manoeuvres are repeated with a

below.

it

striking

degree of invariability.

The large

other Sphex

and heavy

to

first

secures her prey, which

be carried

far,

too

and then digs her

nest in the neighborhood of the capture.

This being

done, she returns to her victim, and straddling it

is

it

drags

by one or both of the antennae. Sometimes the whole

journey

is

accomplished at once, but oftener the wasp

suddenly drops her burden and runs rapidly to her nest.

Perhaps

it

seems

to

her that the entrance

is

not large enough to accommodate a creature of such size;

perhaps she imagines some imperfections of detail

which would impede the process of storing

work

is

it

up.

The

retouched, the doorway enlarged, the threshold

70

THE GREAT GOLDEN DIGGER Then

smoothed. starts

with

she returns to her booty and again

After a few steps the Sphex seems to be

it.

She has

seized with another idea.

but has not seen the interior. is

well within?

The

visit to

the interior

is

all off.

made, more touches are given,

returns.

plished this time? to

Who

doorway,

knows whether

She drops her prey and again runs

and once more she

more given

visited the

Will the journey be accom-

Impossible to say.

Some wasps,

worry than others or more forgetful of

the small details of architecture, to repair their neglect or to clear

up

their suspicions,

abandon

their booty five

or six times in succession to retouch the nest or simply to visit the interior. nest, is carried in

common

The

prey, once brought to the

without the preliminaries that are

to the other species.

Chapter IV SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS a search for the nest of one of our garden wasps

INwe

found, in the woods beyond the fence, an old,

weather-beaten stump which was riddled with holes

The

both large and small.

the passage-ways of ants,

large ones were evidently

and were

in constant use.

small ones seemed to be uninhabited

;

The

but thinking they

might contain the nests we were in search

of,

and hop-

we watched long enough we might see our wasps flitting in and out, we settled ourselves close by. ing that

We we

if

were resolved

was necessary, and our duty to sit on the

to stay as long as

blessed the fate that

made

it

grass under the shade of a wide-spreading oak rather

than in the distressing glare and heat of the garden this

was on the tenth

of July,

;

for

and the weather was what

the farmers call "seasonable."

Twenty,

thirty, forty

minutes passed.

with persistent gazing, and

we had

minds that the likely-looking anted,

when

lo!

Our

nearly

little

eyes ached

made up our

holes were unten-

a tiny wasp, carrying something which 72

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS we could

not see distinctly, darted into one of them.

It

was gone so quickly that we could not be sure that it was the species we were looking for, and when it reappeared, after two or three minutes, not.

we saw

that

it

was

This point being determined, we watched the hole

with redoubled interest. It

was wearisome work,

long time,

should

slip in

thirty-five

to see

for the

and we dared not

let

wasp stayed away a

our gaze wander

she

At the end

without our knowledge.

of

minutes she returned, but again we failed

what she

carried.

and we scarcely caught into her nest.

We

She flew with great

rapidity,

sight of her before she vanished

could not but wonder at the ease and

certainty with which she recognized her

among

lest

own doorway

the hundreds of holes on the side of the stump.

This power of localization, while

common among

is

one of the most

surely also one of the

is

wasps,

it

most

remarkable.

Our

little

Rhopalum

be her name, made

pedicellatum, for that proved to

more journeys within the next two hours. At the end of this time we opened the tunnel, six

and, after a great deal of sawing and cutting, succeeded in finding the nest five inches

from the surface.

It

was

nothing but a slight enlargement of the gallery, in the soft

decaying wood.

In

it

we found

73

thirty-three gray

WASPS, SOLITARY

AND SOCIAL

gnats, all of them, except two, being dead.

the dead ones

was the

one of

which had probably been

egg,

few hours.

laid within a

The egg hatched two days on the

On

later,

fifteenth the larva died.

gnats looked very dry, for both moisture

and

of the tube with pith

on July this

time

By although we had

ventilation

twelfth, but

many

of the

tried to arrange

by packing the bottom

and covering the top with muslin.

Further watching gave us one more wasp of species, in the

same stump. This time the

two inches from the surface.

It

this

was only

nest

contained four dead

gnats and two live ones, but no egg, showing that the egg is

not always laid on the

Much

first

toward the end of August,

later in the season,

we found another

species of

ones stored.

Rhopalum which proved

to

be new, and for which Mr. Ashmead has proposed the

name rubrocinctum,

since

it

wears a red girdle around

the front end of the abdomen, being otherwise dressed in

black like pedicillatum. of raspberry bushes.

It

makes

filled

in the stalks

by partitions of

pith.

with black, gray, and green gnats,

which were packed

in so closely that they

over and pressed out of shape.

from twentv-five J

home

We opened a stem which contained

thirteen compartments, separated

These were

its

to thirtv gnats. * O

74

Each

were doubled cell

contained

In some of them were

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS cocoons, in others larvae, and in one

was an

gnats were very carefully examined, and

from the

cells that

had been

filled last

The

egg.

all

of them,

as well as from

those provisioned earlier, were dead.

Other species of Rhopalum are said spiders

to prey

upon

and aphides.

In studying the species that come in our way we are continually developing distinct likings for

some kinds

above others. The appearance these

of

one

favorites

is

of al-

ways hailed with de-

and when the

light,

season's

we

work

over

is

remember

them

with lively pleasure. It is thus,

dear

OXYBELUS QUADRINOTATUS

little

Oxybelus, that we dwell upon the thought of you and

your pretty ways.

No

other

wasp

rose so early in the

morning, no other was so quick and tidy about her work, so apt and business-like without any fuss or flurry.

suit of

No

other was

her prey, and

gratitude of the

more rapid and vigorous

we

number

in pur-

think with admiration and of

flies

that you

destroyed in the course of the summer. 75

must have

WASPS, SOLITARY O. quadrinotatus

and It

is

is

AND SOCIAL

only one-quarter of an inch long,

dark gray with four whitish spots on the abdomen.

was before nine o'clock

in the

on an early inspection tour these wasps descend

morning

that, while out

in the garden,

upon a sandy

ment's rapid scratching with her

spot,

first

we saw one

and

after a

of

mo-

legs enter the hole

had opened. Under her body she was carrying a which looked like the common domestic species. It

that she fly

was upside down,

its

third pair of legs,

yond the

abdomen

head being

and

all

of

its

of the wasp.

tightly clasped with the

abdomen

projected be-

Ashmead

quotes from

Fabre the remarkable statement that Oxybelus her

flies

home impaled on

carries

her sting, an idea that prob-

ably arose from the fact that nearly the whole body of the

fly is visible.

Our new-found wasp stayed only a moment in her nest, although, as we afterward found, it was long enough

for her to lay her egg

on the

fly.

When

she

came

out she quickly smoothed the sand over the spot with

her head and legs so that there was nothing to nest,

mark

the

and flew away. In three minutes she returned with

another

fly.

She alighted two or three inches away, and

scratched for an instant, but quickly saw her mistake,

and found the

right spot.

Again and again the pretty

little

worker went and

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS came, while we sat watching close by, admiring her deft

and closing the nest and wonderthe ease with which she found it at each return.

handiwork ing at

in opening

There was nothing tiresome or dilatory about species,

and within twenty minutes we had seen

stored up.

The

entered she

left

this

six flies

was closed and the place smoothed over every time before she went away, but when she

make

to

nest

the door open behind her.

her drop the

fly,

but

when

and alighted on a plant near

disturbed she flew up

by, keeping her hold

The whole performance was

it.

like,

We once tried

brisk

on

and business-

but without the feverish hurry of Ammophila and

Pompilus. After the sixth

fly

was taken

in

we were

her go again, thinking that the nest must pletely provisioned,

fly

herself

and

yet so useful in her industry, that

we were

;

for identification

taken

on the

in,

It

She

return.

wasp, scarcely bigger than a

little

hated to disturb her but as

the nest.

now be com-

and that she would not

was such a charming

afraid to let

we

first

obliged to

caught her,

contained only the

flies

we

have her

and then opened that we had seen

the egg being attached to the one lowest down,

left side,

between the head and the thorax.

long and cylindrical.

no marks

The

of violence.

flies

We 77

It

was

were dead, but showed

learned later that

it

takes

AND SOCIAL

WASPS, SOLITARY Oxybelus two hours

to

make

her nest so that this one

must have been prepared the day before.

The egg, which was laid just before nine o'clock on the morning of August seventh, hatched on the morning of August eighth. eat at once,

and devoured

and abdomen first

of the fly to

twenty-four hours.

reached the sixth

On

fly,

at

a

The

little

after nine

larva began to

thorax

the inside of the

all

which

On

it

was attached, twelfth

August

and we supplied

it

in the

had

it

with three more.

August fourteenth these were gone, and we again

replenished

larder, this time with

its

two

flies.

The

larva

had partly eaten these when something went wrong. appetite failed, and on August sixteenth it died.

On

further acquaintance this

charm,

human

-

-

wasp

lost

Its

none of her

indeed, she gained in interest from the almost

curiosity that she

Where

other people.

showed about the

affairs of

several were living close together

one of them would sometimes stop digging her own nest to perch

on a weed and watch the labor of another, and

we once saw an

especially inquisitive character

burrow

through the closed door and enter the home of her next-

door neighbor.

We

find but

Ashmead the

meagre notes on the genus Oxybelus. no observations have been made on

says that

American

species, but that in

78

.

Europe they are found

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS to

burrow

in

sand and

terous insects.

He

to provision their nests with dip-

says also that according to Verhoeff

the species in this genus do not paralyze their prey by stinging, as they are

unable to do so on account of the

NEST OF OXYBELUS

rigidity of the

abdomen, but that instead they crush the

thorax with the mandibles just beneath the wings, the centre of the nervous ganglia.

dozen

flies,

and

all

He

found in one nest a

had the thorax crushed and were

wasp we do not know how the but there was no crushing of the tho-

dead. In the case of our flies

were

rax.

The

its

death

killed,

larva devoured, in it

had probably

all,

ten

flies.

At the time

finished the larval stage of

79

of its

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL existence, since nine days

of the egg. tion

is

It

may

had elapsed

be that

this period just before

a critical point in the

lost several of

since the hatching

pupa-

we

history of a wasp, for

life

our nurslings at

and Fabre has

this time,

noted that when, on account of the presence of parasites, the larva of its

at the to

Bembex

rostrata

had lacked something

usual amount of nourishment,

end of

spin

its

its

it

No

waspling

consciences are clear

;

but

conditions quite normal,

The way

it

was

and

difficult to

make

for this reason

in

which our Oxybelus

carries its prey

Bembex and Philanthus

does not project behind except at the

entrance into the nest. tinctly see, since she

is

pe-

also hold their

prey under the body, but use the second pair of it

their

we may

indirectly, the cause of their death.

culiar to itself.

that

enough

in our charge ever

on that score our

died from lack of nourishment

have been,

perished miserably

larval stage, not having strength

cocoon.

of

Quadrinotatus, as

legs, so

moment

we could

of

dis-

passed close to us several times in

quick succession, clasps the head of her victim in the third pair of legs,

and

flying thus, with

its

whole body

sticking out behind her, she certainly presents a very

remarkable appearance.

Aporus half

fasciatus

an inch

is

a dark gray species, and

in length.

is less

We were working one hot 80

than

day in

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS melon

the

field,

when we saw one

of these

little

wasps

going backward and dragging a female of Maevia vittata

which was much larger than she was

on the ground while she

left it

ment, but soon carried

and

leaves,

left

made

while she

it

up on

herself.

She twice

circled about for a to

mo-

one of the large melon

there

it

a long and

careful study of the local-

skimming close to the ground in and out among ity,

the vines

went under a

leaf that lay

the ground

close to

began

length she

at

;

to

and

After her

dig.

head was well down in the ground we broke ..

.

.

leaf that

method

off the

APORUS FASCIATUS

,

we might of work.

see her

She went on for ten minutes without

noticing the change,

and

then,

flew off to visit her spider. to

her hole

missing.

it

without any circling,

When

she tried to return

was evident that some landmark was

Again and again she zigzagged from the

spider to the nesting-place, going by a regular path

among

the vines from leaf to leaf

to blossom, but

when

and from blossom

she reached the spot she did not 81

WASPS, SOCIAL recognize

At

it.

we

last

over the opening,

when

her work, keeping at

At

this point she

began

to

fill

it

AND SOLITARY back

laid the leaf

in its place

she at once went in and resumed steadily for ten minutes longer.

suddenly reversed her operations and

the hole that she

had made, kicking

in the

i

earth until the entrance was hidden. at the spider, selected a

new

out,

backward, and loose

body

by the

to dig

and remained

considering the situation. to the locality, for she at the spider,

This

place.

fourth.

The

dirt

in turn fifth

soon

perfectly

!

should have gone

now watched bell for the

still

for a time,

Her conclusion was adverse filled in

and started a

the hole, looked once

as

was

beginning was made under a

we could

also a

leaf that

not see her at

had we had the naming

down

new

third nest in a

was soon abandoned,

lay close to the ground, so that

Fasciatus

was kicked under the

At the end of two or three min-

first legs.

utes she paused

all.

and began

Surprisingly large pellets of earth were carried

again.

more

place,

She then glanced

of her she

the ages as exasperans

!

We

her for an hour in the intense heat

;

had the

noonday meal had sounded, hunger and

had descended upon us, and most devoutly did we hope that she was suited at last, but no - - after thirst

twenty minutes' work

and a

this place also

sixth nest started.

was abandoned,

This, however, was the final

82

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS and

choice,

after forty-five

minutes spent in digging,

it

was completed. As the spider was brought toward the nest it was left again and again while the nervous little

wasp flew to the hole, went in, examined, and came out again. At last she backed in, caught the spider by the abdomen, and dragged it down. It was too big - - the head stuck in the hole; but she pulled from below while

we pushed

When

gently from above,

and

it

slowly disappeared.

came out we opened the nest and took The egg was fastened to the middle of the

she

spider.

side of the

abdomen. This one, as was

affected

by the poison than

left

also the case with

a second and third afterward taken from fasciatus,

much less

the

is

usual

among

was the

moving from the time it was taken, without any stimulation, and improving rapidly victims of solitary wasps,

from day blind,

had

to day.

Our second

spider appeared to be

and died upon the sixteenth day, while the third

entirely recovered

was stung, and was

by the seventeenth day

released.

after

it

Fasciatus, then, probably

depends upon packing her victim in tightly to keep

it

quiet. It

was three days and a

half before the egg that

we

had taken hatched. The larva developed rapidly, retaining its hold at the spot to which the mother had fastened it.

The

spider remained alive for six days,

83

and the larva

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

continued to grow for two days longer,

when

about two thirds grown.

also, being at the time

it

died

We had

great trouble in protecting our growing larvae from the

inroads of fungi, and this was one of the

many that

per-

ished from that cause.

The notice

next example of fasciatus that

was a remarkable contrast

came under our

to the

one that we

have just described, being as slow and dignified as the

She chose a place and

other was nervous and hurried.

kept to

it,

her steady labor being interrupted only by

occasional visits to the spider; but utes to complete the nest. gallery running

down

When

it

took her

finished

it

fifty

min-

was a small

obliquely for an inch and a half

into the ground.

The

only habit that this species can claim as peculiar

to itself

partly

is

the strange

made

nests that

and

useless one of filling

it is

about to abandon.

up the

We have

never seen the sense of order carried to so high a point in

any other wasp.

On

a hillside near our cottage stands a log cabin,

deserted and untenanted save for small creatures of the wild, which,

wasps,

is

though a favorite spot with wood-boring

an unprofitable place

for study because of the

difficulty of cutting out their nests

property.

One day

without destroying

in early July, however,

when we

WASP HOMES

IN

THE LOG CABIN

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS were

hunting and longed to

in the full fervor of

every moment,

utilize

the wasps in our garden seemed to have

and enjoyment only was

resolved that enjoyment

destined end and way, idle that in disgust

their

and became so exasperatingly

we turned

to the cabin.

For half an

hour we saw nothing more exciting than a Trypoxylon

immuring her victims and a Pompilus hunting spiders under the eaves, but at the end of that time Passolocus annulatus, a tiny

wasp new

along and entered one

came

of the holes with

the logs were riddled.

mandibles, and

to us,

when

flying quietly

which the ends of

She was carrying an aphis

in her

was duly stored she reappeared and flew away. She had probably just renewed her work after a spell of rest, since from this time on for nearly an hour she

this

came back

regularly every four or five

minutes. She nearly always alighted on a blade of grass before going into the nest, but did not appear to be

malaxing her prey. Presently another stage in the game

was reached. She no longer brought aphides, but little pellets of mud with which she plastered up the opening. After she had finished this task and departed, fully chiseled into the log

and

we

care-

laid bare the nest.

The

tunnel ran in for about three inches, and ended in three

pockets which were well stocked with dead aphides, there being fifty-seven in

all.

The innermost

cell

con-

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

tained a larva, and in the others were eggs, one of which

hatched on the next day and one on the day following.

This second one was probably

was

laid just before the nest

sealed, giving forty hours for the egg stage;

proved

to

be the healthiest of the three.

The

and

it

others per-

ished in early infancy; but this one passed twelve days in eating, not only its

own

destined for the other

and then spun

We

its

members

the logs of the cabin,

of these

wasps working

in

and noticed that they seemed

to

many

leisure alternating with spells of active

work, as though when one the egg laid they

of the family as well,

cocoon.

afterwards saw

have seasons of

share of provisions, but those

cell

had been

felt at liberty to

up and

amuse themselves

a time before beginning on another.

new

filled

When

an

for

entirely

residence was to be chosen they went house-hunting

among

the old holes in the logs

;

and whether they had a

high standard of sanitary conditions, or whether they objected to making extensive repairs, a great

many

places were examined and rejected before they settled

down. The choice once made, many loads of pith were carried out before the

After the

little

new abode was put

pass a whole day in

rest,

householder was to rights, the

spending

much

satisfied.

wasp would

of the time in

looking out of her doorway and perhaps in observing

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS when she began

the doings of her neighbors, but

she was very industrious, fere with her labors,

matter

how

her, than

and allowed nothing

to

work

to inter-

paying no more attention to us, no

closely our curiosity led us to interrogate

we had been

if

blown about by the

trees

wind.

to

Some

of the

form

galleries for their nests,

wasps dig deep

into the stems of bushes

we found one

but

wise

genus that went in only far enough to make one or two thus saving the trouble of carrying her cuttings

cells,

thirty or forty centimeters in direct opposition to the

force of gravity.

This was Odynerus, whose nests we

found in July, in blackberry and raspberry stems.

Our

first

nests bear her

species

mark

was perennis, whose

in the

shape of a

One

of her cells contained a

pellet

mud

partition.

wasp

larva

of earth placed above each

and

about sixteen caterpillars, nearly one third of

which were dead, while the

or less lively.

They seemed

rest

were more

to

have been

stung near the anterior part, as the

last three

or four segments were jerked up violently

when touched. The

larva went

on

NEST OF PERENNIS

eating,

went on dying from hour

to hour.

At the end of the eighth day, the baby wasp

finished

and the

caterpillars

89

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

had been provided for two dead caterpillars from another

its

meal, having eaten

it,

as

well

as

that

all

nest.

Much

interest attaches to the

way

in

which Odynerus

lays her egg, since instead of following the

fashion of fastening tiny filament of

Thus

in

from the

it

to the prey she

web from

the food supply. Startle ling retreats

by way is

everything

of

in the ground,

it is

cell.

hung

down and

until the tiny

jaws reach

web, descending again only

For twenty-four hours

it

and then, growing bold,

it

quiet.

feeds at

and when the larva

ever so slightly and the wasp-

it

its

retains this path to safety,

We

by a

it

ceiling, a mass of very imperfectly paralyzed

comes out the thread lengthens

drops

suspends

the wall or ceiling of her

O. reniformis, nesting

caterpillars being collected below,

when

common

its

had opened hundreds

ease.

of plant stems in quest of

these suspended eggs without being so fortunate as to find one,

and were therefore much pleased when our

kind friend, Dr. Sigmund Graenicher, whose interest in bees keeps

him

in touch with out-of-door happenings,

and who has given us much valuable two

stalks,

one of which had in

it

help, brought us

a nest of O. conformis,

while the other contained two freshly provisioned of O. anormis.

In

all

three the egg

90

cells

had been hung from

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS the side of the cell about one third of the

from which

in the nest of conformis,

had

caterpillars

fallen,

it

hung

all

way down, and but one of the

loose against the wall.

In the other nests the lower part was packed tightly with sixteen small larvae,

upon which

lay the egg, supported in a horizontal position,

although attached to the side wall ex-

actly as in conformis,

more

and above were

eight

caterpillars, the whole forming a com-

pact mass shut in by the usual paitition of

mud. So

closely

after counting

them

This

narrow quarters they became

when

active is

to get

back again, and although motion-

all

less in their

quite

were they crammed in that

them we were unable

an

relieved

entirely different

NEST OF ANORMIS

from pressure. arrangement from that of

O. reniformis, and since the larva

is

in contact with the

from the moment of hatching the manner

caterpillars

of the egg-laying has no significance in relation to the safety of the young.

Conformis hatched on the morning after we received it,

sloughing

tached to

by which from

it,

off the

skin of the egg, but remaining at-

and thus doubling the length of the thread hung. The caterpillar was slightly separated

it,

it

and

it

seemed

to

have no notion of feeling about

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

for its food, eating nothing for twenty-four hours, but

We now

growing and developing nevertheless.

up some eat,

its

own

caterpillar

take from anormis were gone

take

and

it

and as many

as

caterpillars in contact with

but after

soft,

tender

garden; and

The two

it

little

it

it,

piled

began

to

we dared

stubbornly refused to

spiders, or caterpillars out of our

perished, a victim to prejudice.

eggs of anormis were probably laid within a

few hours of each other, since they had both hatched

on the morning of the third day, and had broken from their attachment, beginning to eat at once.

cooned on the

We

fifth

day

had long wished

early in

They

co-

after hatching. to find a nest of

September fortune favored us.

O. capra, and

A

neighbor of

ours keeps a large tin horn hanging under the porch.

One day when

she wished to use

ing would bring forth a sound

;

it,

no amount of blow-

and when she unscrewed

the mouthpiece to investigate the matter, out tumbled several small green caterpillars

mud. When we heard it

and a quantity

of this incident

should be repeated the nest and

its

we begged

of dry

that

if

contents might be

saved for us; and on the second of September

we

re-

ceived the mouthpiece of the horn with a message to

wasp had been working at it for some Examination showed that there were three cells,

the effect that a days.

92

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS each containing a larva and a supply of caterpillars, of

which there were ten in the only one

left

uneaten in the

them being

of

cell

most

oldest.

formed, and

lately

The

caterpillars, all

together with the wasp

alive,

larvae,

were

transferred to a place in which they could be conveniently watched.

None

were attacked. The

of the caterpillars died until they

larvae ate all the

food that was pro-

on the fourth, and the

vided, the oldest one cocooning

Of

second one on the seventh of September.

we have no all

the third,

record, excepting that the caterpillars

had

been eaten on September eighth.

We

happened

grounds

be passing through our neighbor's

to

on the morning of September

at nine o'clock

fifth,

and

more

visits

calling to ask

whether there had been any

from the wasp, we learned that capra had

mud

been seen making a

day before.

partition in the horn

on the

While we were speaking she arrived and

entered the mouthpiece, where she remained for about ten minutes.

When

laid her egg,

which we carried away with

she departed

we found

that she us,

had

wishing

This proved

to

determine the length of the egg stage.

to

be longer than that of any wasp that we had hereto-

fore

known,

for not until the

ninth did the larva

make

bursting and leaving

its

its

morning

of

September

appearance, the egg skin

tenant free to crawl away.

93

In

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

other genera the egg changes into a larva imperceptibly, there being no sloughing off of the skin.

Capra, then,

first

finds a suitable crevice,

and builds a

partition across the inner end, the earth being scratched

up from some

and moistened

dry, bare spot,

in her

mouth. Before gathering the ten or twelve small pillars that are to provision the

and although we could not be this case as in the others

Unless the

cell

is

it

cell,

sure,

cater-

she lays her egg;

we thought

that in

was suspended. packed

tightly

at the beginning,

capra certainly needs the filament, for her caterpillars

were so far from being reduced mobility that

we had

to press

to a state of decent im-

wads

of cotton into the

tubes in which they were kept to prevent them from wriggling out of the

of the larva.

None

of our

not even the one-day-old ones, were injured by

larvae,

their activity

them

way

it

;

but had the egg been

left to its fate

among

might have perished.

Later in September we found O. vagus bringing lets

from a sharp-edged hole

was

to carry

in the ground.

pel-

Her method

each load on the wing to a distance of ten

or twelve inches, where

it

was dropped without the

lively

fling

with which

The

red end of a match stuck into the ground two

inches

Ammophila

away proved very

discards her

lump

of dirt.

disquieting to the dainty

94

little

SEVERAL LITTLE WASPS wasp. These colored matches were a great convenience in

marking

we did not

guess, for a time,

upon

and seeming

plants,

constantly,

what the trouble was. For

went and came,

half an hour she

ing

and as we were using them

nests,

circling about, alight-

entirely

absorbed in

examining them with the minutest care, even alighting

upon our hands with most engaging friendliness, but pretending all the time that the nest was naught to her.

When

and resumed her work. The storing was not

in at once

begun

was removed she hurried

the offending object

until the next

morning, when she took in

caterpillars of very different sizes, at

ten to twenty minutes,

hoped

to find the little

formis, but

way

as to

had not

show the

this genus,

and then

filled

the hole.

chamber arranged

skill

enough

internal plan.

with only one

six

intervals of from

as in reni-

to excavate in It is

We

such a

remarkable that

set of tools for all its species,

has worked out such different styles of architecture, the

ground nests bearing no resemblance of

woody

of

empty

stalks

;

and

snail shells

its flexibility is

by a foreign

by capra's habit of partitioning

off

to those cut out

shown

in the use

species, as well as

convenient crevices

found ready made.

The those

prettiest nests that

of

we have seen

Plenoculus peckhamii, 95

in stems are

which separates

its

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

not by solid partitions, but by numerous granules

cells,

of earth,

which are used by the

One

case of the cocoon.

had

bottom

at the

larvae for

forming the

raspberry stalk that

mud

six of these

these three larvae eating, each in

we opened

cocoons, and above

its

own compartment,

immature bugs Sometimes the stalk which is

the provision in this case consisting of of the genus

being

filled

Pamera.

by Plenoculus

of another wasp, as filled

by Osmia

is

attracts the fancy of a bee or

shown by the upper

cells

builds above the bee

When

cells.

a number of wasp

eggs are placed in a plant stem, the last one laid first to

hatch.

The

different habits of the

in this respect are very interesting.

first,

The lower

In the case of Cera-

ones wait patiently in their

When

flies,

way

first laid

cells until

and then they

the one

all

come out

two species occupy the same

stalk, the

lack of adjustment probably of those lower

the

those above following in regular order.

in the top cell has matured, at once.

is

Hymenoptera

tina dupla, the small carpenter bee, the egg

hatches

being

or Crabro, or sometimes Plenoculus

results in the destruction

down, excepting

in the case of the

cuckoo

which have acquired the habit of gnawing out at the side of the stem.

their

V

Chapter CRABRO

THE

highest point of the island

perfume, carried

was

by the wind far

calling everything that

est of all the gifts that

drawn to the thrilling

bees,

spot,

and we seemed

July can

to gather the rich-

offer.

We,

too,

were

and found the great blossoming domes life.

butterflies

to

For miles around, the

had gathered

to the feast;

touch the high-tide of the year in the

scent of the flowers, creatures,

;

had wings

and vibrating with

wasps, and

crowned by a

is

and one day their over field and wood,

great group of linden trees

and the

the

humming

vision of

it

all

throng of happy

against the

summer

sky.

Below, in a great root that had pushed above ground, five little

wasps, by

name

sexmaculatus, of the worthy

but unimaginative genus Crabro, resisting the intoxication of the linden flowers,

the most

humdrum and

were sawing and cutting in practical

them, presumably the earliest the root,

and came backing up 97

riser,

manner.

was

well

once in a while,

One

of

down

in

pushing

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL a

lot of

wood dust out

by means of

away

This was spread out

of the hole.

and mandibles, and was then blown

legs

who

cir-

until the last grain

had

by the fanning wings of the

cled about just above the

ground

little

worker,

disappeared.

Here was another way of protecting the

The

fresh dust might attract the attention of

home.

some cuckoo-like and therefore

it

insect

who would

was dispersed,

ried out her pellet

and flung

it

lay her egg within

just as

Ammophila

to a distance,

;

car-

and Sphex

spread evenly over the ground the mass of earth that she carried from her hole. After this series of actions had been repeated several

times the wasp flew that she

had

from a main see

away

to hunt.

We

afterward found

finished the third in a set of cells leading gallery.

On

her return

what she was carrying.

alighted close by,

She showed no

and while she was trying

to the third pair of legs the fly that she

the second pair,

it

we delayed her fear,

she was permitted to store

;

but

to transfer

was clasping with

escaped and flew gayly away.

are plenty, however, and she soon

to

Flies

had another which

and from that time she

worked busily until we left her at noon. It took her from two to ten minutes to catch her fly, and at each return two or three minutes were spent in the nest.

opening her tunnel some days 98

later,

On

we found within

SEXMACULATUS

IN

THE LINDEN ROOTS

CRABRO not only

seemed

flies,

but long-bodied gnats, and

have been brought home uninjured.

to

them

of

all

When

was opened some flew away, others were walking about, and all were lively. The wasp egg was laid on the under side of the neck and although the freshest cell

;

we could thought

hatched

it

ten to sixteen

A month

half centimeters,

bugs and a

end of

thirty-six hours.

were provided for each

flies

later

at the

we found Crabro

ground. Her tunnel ran

Two

down

obliquely for six and one

were in the

latus taking both flies

nest,

and gnats was

To

But the

to believe that

marks

surprising, so rigid

both

have led

needed

and bugs;

flies

1

to this supposition,

to

still,

she might

of conservatism about her,

It is true that

to believe.

to use

sexmacu-

one wasp, a Crabro,

take such diverse things as bugs and

much

find

it

long as she drew the line at Diptera she was

feel that so

all

at the end.

when we opened

are the family traditions of the wasps;

all right.

larva.

and had an enlargement fly

From

lentus nesting in the

before the provision was completed.

with

we

not be certain of the exact time of laying

prove that there

is

flies, is

too,

would

almost too

Crabro wesmaeli

is

but some accident

said

may

and stronger evidence variability in so

is

deep

seated an instinct. i

i

Sharp, Insects, page 130.

101

\

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL The Crabro wasps they want to

live,

of

in

have pleasant ideas as

We

found ten or twelve of

lately

an old log on the shore

in

Milwaukee, nesting

Lake Michigan, and when they opened

in the

great

where

to

but interruptus excels in the choice

of a dwelling place.

them

all

their doors

morning they had before them the splendor bay but calm ;

of the

in the midst of the glory they never

paused on the threshold, as Cerceris would have done, to take

a look at the world before going to work.

morning the

earliest riser in

our

ning the day at half past nine.

little

One

colony was begin-

Of good

size for a

Crabro,

with a square determined-looking head and very direct

and business-like manners, she proceeded a

new chamber

for provisioning.

to cut out

These chambers are

nothing more than enlargements of the long gallery,

such as are

made

in stems

by related

o'clock she departed on a hunting excursion

bushes on the bank above minutes, carrying,

much

to

us,

At ten

species.

among

and came back

the

in eight

our surprise, a white- winged

moth, which was clasped under the body by the second

and

third pairs of legs,

and was passed back

pair as she alighted before entering. vation, a delicacy

Crabro

larder,

A moment

new

is

an inno-

to the accepted idea of

accustomed

later she

A moth

to the third

was

what a

to Diptera, should contain.

off again,

102

but this time did not

CRABRO AND HER WHITE MOTHS

CRABRO succeed so quickly, coming back twice empty-handed for brief visits,

an hour.

and bringing

took

It

six

moths

in a load at the

number neared completion her seemed to wax greater, the hunting the

to five,

that

and even

some

of the

to

into the closely fitting

o'clock the cell sight, closing the

was

alive

was

found afterwards

after another,

before eleven

little

and the wasp

door behind her.

and energy

and some dead, and

chamber. At a filled,

and as

intervals shortening

We

two minutes.

moths were

interest

packed them lengthwise, one

that she

end of half

to provision the cell,

We

from

retired

thought that she

but presently the protrusion of wood dust

resting,

showed that she was enlarging her house, and an hour

came out and began

later she

to

time half a dozen were working. first

hunt again.

By

this

Before leaving for the

time in the morning each one

made a thorough

study of the place, and on returning they entered their

own

doors,

tion, the

them.

which were standing open, without

hesita-

long white wings of the moths trailing behind

Four

species were represented in the nests that

we opened.

Many

species of

of plants, in

Crabro make

and among these

is

their nests in the stems

stirpicola,

which

is

seen

numbers, through the middle of July, flying about in

a leisurely way, though

it is

only toward the end of the

105

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL month, or

in the early

days of August, that they

down

to the

noon

of

work

in the heat of the day,

work

of

making

their

On

homes.

settle

the after-

July twenty-seventh, after some very lively

we walked down

to the

berry garden at half past five o'clock,

rather to rest our-

selves than with the thought

of undertaking anything new;

but a wasp - hunter cannot afford

choose

to

we

hours, and

own

his

thankfully

CRABRO STIRP1COLA

accepted the sending of for-

when we came upon a

tune

digging out her nest.

stirpicola

busy

She had only begun

and had reached a length

at

work

in

to excavate,

just equal to that of her

own

body. Her manners were an agreeable contrast to those of the wasps that we had been watching through the

The

day.

feverish excitement of

their

ways seemed

quite in keeping with the burning heat of noon, while

Crabro's slow and gentle movements harmonized perfectly

with the long shadows of evening.

ciate the difference

and Crabro one

is

the

it

is

To

fully appre-

between Pompilus or Ammophila

necessary to see them at work.

embodiment

of all

that

is

restless,

The vying

with the humming-birds in swiftness and energy, while 1

06

CRABRO the other

calm, quiet, and stately in

is

all

that she

does.

Some

ten feet

one, to judge

away was a second

from the depth

to

had penetrated, must have been

We

about two hours.

They

bit

and

this

which she at

work

for

watched them both,

and saw them bring up load pith.

stirpicola,

after load of

out the pellets with their

mandibles, and passed them back between the legs

and under the body

had accumulated above the men.

until a quantity tip of the

abdo-

They then walked backward up

the

stem, and thus pushed out the mass as they came to the top. Often they used the hind legs to assist in getting

sometimes kicking in every

it

out of the way,

it

to a little distance.

two or three

trips they

Once

would come

out far enough to expose part of the thorax.

They appeared and disappeared with

the

regularity of a machine, never stopping to rest.

We remained with them until seven o'clock,

BOTTLE ON

STEM TO MEASURE

WORK OF CRABRO

when we placed in such a

work

way

a long bottle over each stem that while

of the wasp,

it

it

did not interfere with the

caught the chips of pith as they 107

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL fell

At the end of an hour we noted the amount

out.

of accumulation in the tube, of their rate of work.

and thus had a measure

The drawing

gives

arrangement of the tube on the stem.

an idea of the

When we

left

them they were still digging and delving. At half past nine we took a lantern and went down to visit

We

our charges.

expected to find them at

rest,

and asleep; but on the contrary they were working

and upon examining the measuring

busily

as

glasses

we found

left

ever,

We

them.

bottles,

as

that they

had not paused

since

measured the depth of the debris

we

in the

and then emptied them.

At four o'clock on the next morning we went

to the

garden, and were much surprised to find that the two wasps had worked without intermission throughout

Indeed they seemed

the night. little

the time that

the gallery

and up

was more pith pected

if

it

took to

to the

to

make

have shortened a a round trip

down

opening again, since there

in the bottles

than we could have ex-

they had worked at only their former rate.

Neither the coolness of the air nor the darkness of the night

had made the

slightest difference to

them. After

watching them a few minutes, and marveling

at their

powers of endurance, we cleared out the tubes and returned to bed.

At half past eight we found them 1

08

still

CRABRO Unlike

at work.

us, they

had taken no morning nap,

but had gone on with their tunneling in their usual steady way.

From

this

time their ways diverged, and they must be

described separately.

had

first

first,

and flew

seen

At nine o'clock the one that we

came up

off,

walking head

to the opening,

remaining away seven minutes.

When

she returned she at once resumed her work, and kept at

it

without a pause until two in the afternoon. At this

hour she went away, and we never saw her again. suppose that she was

killed, for

it

We

seems improbable

that so faithful a creature could have deserted her halffinished

home. Pompilus quinquenotatus often deserted

a partly finished nest for some more enticing spot, and

Sphex started several excavations before making a final choice; but we cannot believe that there was anything fickle

about Crabro.

The second wasp came up head

first to

the entrance

of her hole at two minutes after nine, as though she

had been

influenced, in

some

subtle way,

by her neigh-

bor's example; but after looking about for a

she went back. times,

and

She repeated

finally,

came out and

this observation several

at twenty-five

minutes after nine,

flew to a leaf near by.

cled around, alighting a

number 109

moment

Then

of times,

and

she

cir-

at last

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL departed.

Her

stay

was

for at just thirty-five

brief,

minutes after nine she returned, and at once settled

down

to her

work.

We now began to make that

it

took her to go

notes as to the length of time

down and

bring back her load.

We

timed her again and again, and found that she was

remarkably regular, each of her

trips

occupying from

forty-five to fifty seconds.

All that day

we kept her under

strict surveillance,

and

never once did she suspend her operations either for rest or refreshment.

Late

in the afternoon, while

we

sat

watching her as she appeared and disappeared with almost the regularity of clockwork,

we found

to realize that the patient little creature

work

for

it

difficult

had been

at

more than twenty-four hours, with only one

brief intermission.

Without hurry or

flurry she kept at

her task, reminding us, in her business-like ways, of the social at

wasps of the genus Vespa.

dusk,

and

we

When we

left

her,

attached the recording tube to the stem,

at ten o'clock in the

had not stopped working.

evening

We

we found

emptied the

that she

glass,

and

left her.

At seven o'clock

we

in the

morning of July twenty-ninth could and visit, scarcely believe the testiour senses when we saw that the record was one

paid her a

mony

of

no

CRABRO of unceasing

We

night.

through the long hours of the second

toil

to

began

wonder

if

she would ever finish her

Wonderful though she was, we had grown a

task.

weary

glad that she worked through the creditable to her

and

it

first

it

night;

it

was

through the second, but

we might have

looked as though

little

had been

and we admired

interesting to us,

her even more for sticking to

when

We

of our long session of watching.

to

remain by

her side through another long day, watching an endless series of loads as they

were carried

we thought she was

rather overdoing

we

out,

confess that

it.

Gradually,

however, she slowed up her work, taking two or three

minutes to

make

a journey

down and

up. At

last, at just

nine o'clock, her head appeared at the top of the stalk,

and

after a slight hesitation she flew

away.

The

nest

was

completed.

We have studied wasps for a number of years, feel that

many one

to

we

are on terms of

more or

less

and we

intimacy with

of the species, but never before

have we known

We

have often gone

work

after

day was done.

out with a lantern at bedtime for a tour of inspection

among our quiet

nests,

and have always found the inhabitants

and presumably

asleep.

The

social

wasps are very

industrious, but during the hot nights of July they are to

be seen clustered together on the outside of their paper

in

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL nests in deep repose

nest in the

and although the Vespa wasps that

;

ground sometimes come home

light,

we have never

dark.

Polistes fusca

so thickly does she

late in the twi-

seen them work after

may

that she

was

hang her combs under the

our porches, and from observations taken

we know

it

shelter of

at all

quiet through the night.

is

really

be said to share our cottage,

Sir

hours

John

great industry of wasps.

and Wasps," speaks of the He has known them to work

from early morning

dusk without any interval

Lubbock,

rest

in "Ants, Bees,

until

or refreshment;

from three

toiling

in

but here was our

Crabro

the afternoon of July twenty-

and the day and night

seventh, through that night

lowing until

little

for

fol-

nine o'clock on the morning of the twenty-

a period of forty-two consecutive hours with

ninth,

one intermission of ten minutes on the morning of the Surely she takes the palm for industry,

twenty-eighth.

not only from other wasps, but from the ant and the bee as well.

The

nest

remained o'clock,

thing,

to

was completed, but the work be done.

The wasp

and ten minutes

we knew

away

it

at nine

came back with some-

not what, for she dropped into her hole

so quickly that she

knew she was

later

flew

of storing

there.

was out

Two

of sight almost before

we

minutes later she came up,

112

CRABRO and was

This time she was gone twelve min-

off again.

and when she returned we were again baffled in our effort to see what she was carrying. When she came utes,

out she alighted upon a leaf and attended to her cleaning both body and wings by rubbing them

her hind

and from

legs,

this

toilet,

off

with

time on she never started on

a hunting expedition without paying her personal ap-

attention to

this

pearance.

On her

third trip she

was

gone twenty minutes, coming back with a small

fly;

and before we

left

her at ten o'clock, she had stored six

more.

When we came

back

at half

past two in the afternoon she

was

working, and she kept up her goings

and comings

until four o'clock,

when she suspended the day.

On

operations for

the next morning

we

were called away, and know nothing of

what she

did, but

ing day, Thursday, observations. in

on the

follow-

we resumed our

She worked hard

all

NEST OF

C.

STIRPICOLA

the morning, but

the afternoon her trips were few, and were

at long intervals.

to nine,

when

On

made

Friday she worked from eight

she departed, and never returned.

We

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL watched

for her, at intervals, all

the next,

when we were

We

fallen a victim to

some bird

did not disturb the nest until four days

and examined

cut the stalk,

it.

found that the tunnel was thirty-nine centimeters

in length. all

and,

We

when we

later,

forced to conclude that our

worker had

faithful little

or beast.

through that day and

This was a long distance for her

to excavate,

had been

things considered, her progress

rapid.

We have opened a number of stems that had been stored by

this species,

and

all

the excavations were from thirty

to forty centimeters in length, the

width of the gallery

being about three and one half millimeters, while on each side there

was from one

to

one and one half millimeters

had not been cut away. Of course these

of pith that

points varied with the diameter of the stem and also

with the size of the worker.

Our egg,

little

and had

stirpicola

cell,

had

built a partition of pith across the

a floor to the second

Had she lived,

cell,

laid

an

stem as

before her untimely taking

off.

ten or twelve cells would have been stored,

one above the other. larva

had stored one

and parts

The completed

of eighteen

species being represented.

flies

contained a

of different sizes, four

The

flies

tacked by the larva, the abdomens of races of others having been eaten.

114

cell

had

all

been

some and the

The

at-

tho-

larva continued

AMMOPHILA SLEEPING

IN

THE GRASS (AFTER BANKS)

CRABRO two days, and then spun

to eat for

found

and

in this

The seem

The

cocoon.

we kept wintered

flies

were

in other nests of stirpicola

dead. All the pupae that

and came out

its

in the

all

cocoon

in the spring.

females of Crabro, like those of other genera,

to use their galleries as sleeping places,

males stop

at

any convenient

We

inn.

but the

once entertained

one of them for several nights in a hole in one of the posts of our cottage porch. thus, to

spend time and care in digging a hole

which they return night

female keeps one self

Other males, as

away

stead of

in

it

cell

after night.

this

in the

ground,

In Agenia the

ahead of her needs, and tucks her-

very comfortably

making

in Philan-

;

but the Pelopaei,

in-

use of their tubes, congregate in

the evening where there are convenient crevices, and

make lish

as

much

fuss about getting settled as a lot of

sparrows. Mr. Banks has

made a

Eng-

delightfully pretty

as well as interesting observation on the sleeping habits of

Ammophila.

In a corner of his garden where the

grass grew long, dozens of these wasps arrived every

evening, fell

and

sound

of the

after a

good many changes

in position,

asleep, clinging to the stems about

way down. They

seven and

eight o'clock,

morning.

We

one third

registered at this hotel

and departed before

between

five in the

have seen a Pompilus take the greatest 117

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

care in selecting a sheltered spot under

some

where she afterward hung herself up, and

slept

until after eight the next day;

x

leaves,

soundly

and Mr. Brues has found

companies of Priononyx atrata passing the night on the stems of sweet clover.

Chapter VI AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT

OUR

children often

made

themselves useful by

re-

porting finds in the shape of nests, and one day

they returned from the island with a wonderful tale of

numbers

great

of big

wasps that were digging

in the

ground. "I don't know what they are," said the small boy, "but they act to

With

nets."

me like

the maddest kind of hor-

time in going over to the spot, where colony of "

upon

us,

we

this attractive picture before us,

Bembex

spinolas.

desire of blood,

On

and

we found

lost

a thriving

our approach they

rage,

and

fell

lust of fight" in

their mien, and chased us to a distance, but without flicting

no

in-

a single wound. This temperance was not due to

gentleness of disposition, but to the fact that

Bembex

is

handy with her sting, her body being too large and clumsy to curve and give the lightning stab as other not at

all

wasps do. With renewed courage we again approached them, more cautiously this time, and soon learned that if

we

preserved an extremely composed and dignified

demeanor our presence on the 119

field

would be

tolerated.

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL like Philanthus,

Bembex, lives in

number

a sort of semi-social state, a

uals occupying the

one has

and some species of Sphex,

its

same space

of ground, although each

Bembex, however,

separate nest.

from these genera and from almost

wasps

in her habit of feeding her

all

This difference

compared with those

differs

of the solitary

young from day

or rather from hour to hour, as long as larval state.

of individ-

in her

it

to day,

remains in the

maternal cares as

of other species results in a less

numerous progeny. The larva, for a period of two weeks, demands constant attention from the mother, so that a second egg cannot be laid until the first-born has gone into its cocoon, unless, indeed, she feeds

once, which does not

work

is

seem probable.

ten or twelve weeks, so that

two

The

larvae at

season of

Wesenberg

ably correct in allowing only five or six

is

prob-

young ones to

each mother for the summer.

In watching our wasps we found that the new nests

were usually made in the outskirts of the colony, which

was thus continually extending other species, just

where

Bembex has

its limits.

Like many

great difficulty in deciding

Our Sphex made three beginnings settling down. The only Ammophila that

to dig.

before finally

we watched from

the beginning changed her place after

working for ten minutes. P. quinquenotatus often 1

20

tried

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT half a dozen places before she is

was

satisfied,

and

spinolae

quite as difficult to please.

When,

at last, the right place

excavation

is

carried

found, the labor of

is

on vigorously. The mandibles are

used for loosening the earth, and for greater part of the

work

is

done with the

the tarsi of which are doubled

out with the brush of

stiff

up while

spiny hairs

lifting, first

but the

pair of legs,

the dirt

is

swept

on the second

joint.

This attitude gives them a very comical aspect, making

them look

as

if

They sometimes

they were sweeping with their elbows. lie

far over to

one side while loosening

the earth with their mandibles. While digging, the body is

held high by the straightening of the third pair of

and the

dirt

comes out behind

a distance of three or four inches. is lost

to sight, but every

legs,

in a rapid stream, flying to

Before long the wasp

few moments she comes back-

ing out, pushing behind her the dirt that she has dis-

placed below. In about fifteen minutes the nest

and the wasp turns her attention dirt that

is

ready,

to scattering all the

has been thrown out, sweeping the ground

clean so that no sign of her often speculated as to the

work remains.

meaning

We

of the careful

conscientious performance of this part of her task. the wasps that nest by themselves

what enemy

it

have

is

and

With

not easy to see

they are providing against in hiding the 121

WASPS, SOCIAL entrance to the nest

but the precaution seems

;

necessary- -even absurd there

is

no

AND SOLITARY in the

Bembex

still less

field,

where

possibility of concealing the colony,

and

where the nests are only an inch or two apart, so that

an enemy might burrow anywhere with the certainty of finding one.

discover

was the

when

enter

Moreover, the only enemy that we could parasitic

the hole

fly,

closed.

is

which never attempts

to

However, unmoved by

our opinion on the subject, spinolae spends

five or six

minutes of her precious time in making the neighbor-

hood of her home quite

mouth

of the nest with a

Oxybelus, though she

is

little

and then she

fills

in the

loose earth before going

to catch her fly.

away

size,

tidy,

can catch a

strong enough

fly in

is

limited in choice

by her small

three or four minutes.

to take

anything that she sees,

Bembex and she

has no preference for one species above another, yet she

seldom finds one under twenty or twenty-five minutes.

When it is

she comes back nothing of the

unusually large, so closely

by the second pair of

away

legs.

is it

She

fly is visible

unless

held under her body

alights,

and scratches

the loose earth at the entrance of the nest with her

and then, as she creeps within, she passes the along from the second to the third pair, so that the

first legs,

fly

end of

its

body, projecting beyond the 122

abdomen

of the

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT is

wasp,

an instant before

visible for

Sometimes she drops the ing around, pulls

the

behind her, and then, turn-

fly is left

This

clears the way.

on the ground while

lying

offers a favorable

tunity to parasites, especially as the fly

regard to

its

safety,

but

is

is

it

way is clear the careless proprietor must in

it

off before

entirely blocked

disturbed,

it

she held the

way

fly,

to her nest.

but

wasp

when she

dirt,

it

the

out and

close by, the tunnel

minutes before

During part of realized that it

it

this

time

was going

down near

by.

As

enters she sometimes leaves the hole open be-

hind her, but oftener below.

search

for ten

be a long piece of work she laid

the

when

so that

by the loose earth which we had

and the wasp worked

she cleared a

to

she can store

dirt

away. In one instance,

which we had been opening a nest

was

oppor-

not placed with

dropped anywhere. The

kicked out sometimes covers

is

clean

In other

in with her mandibles.

it

with earth, the

wasp

that

carried inside.

where a longer portion of the tunnel has been

cases, filled

fly

it is

When

fills it

by pushing up earth from

she comes out again she throws in a

and then begins

to circle

seems not quite easy about the

about the place.

nest,

little

She

however, returning

three or four times to scratch earth over the entrance,

before finally taking her departure.

We

opened a good many nests 123

in the course of the

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL summer, and found them

more

so than

all

much

very

is

much

alike,

The

the case with other species.

en-

trance tunnel runs in obliquely for from three to five inches below the surface of the ground, and ends in a pocket.

We grow accustomed iarity

with other wasps

to marvels,

we

hidden.

And

yet

at

how

Bembex swoops down

which the entrance

strange a power

the least sign to help her grass

is

to

be seen on the

a nest which

we wished

pebbles at exactly side, so that the

famil-

take as a matter of course the

unerring accuracy with which

upon the exact spot

and from our

- -

it is

to her nest

There

!

is

is

not

not a stone, not a blade of

field.

Our method

to find again

was

equal distances from

of

marking

to place tiny

one on either

it,

middle point of the straight

line

between

them gave us the desired spot; and the wasp doubtless uses the same method, only her landmarks are sometimes so infinitesimal that

we do

not recognize them.

Bouvier finds that when he cuts away the plants

around the nest of B.

labiatus,

clearing a space of

twenty- eight or thirty inches square, the wasp

is

confused, flying about for a long time before she to find her

entrance.

home.

He

The wasp

once placed a

alighted

ing vainly for a while

made

upon

her

124

flat

way

in.

is

able

stone over the

and

it,

much

after scratch-

The

stone was

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT in this position for

left

Bembex its

two days, during which time

learned to regard

it

as a landmark, for

upon

being removed to a distance of eight inches she

still

.

' '"

'^

^

"-T%. ^*z=*~ -

a^.-

-

-

to .

'*

.

NEST OF BEMBEX

followed

it

upon returning with her

upon finding her

An

observation of

clusion.

On

nest near

He

fly,

and

insisted

it.

Marchand

points to the

same con-

says:-

July seventeenth, 1900, during a short sojourn at

Pouliguen, on returning from a hunt after Diptera and Hymenoptera in the cliffs of Caudan, about eleven in the

morning,

in tropical heat, I

the old mill of

paused to take breath near for a little shade

Caudan and looked about 125

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL before continuing

walk to Pen-Chateau.

my

had seated

I

myself on the stones of a slope shaded from the sun and was wiping the perspiration from my forehead, when I

saw a large wasp followed

it

with

arrive directly before me.

my

on the side of

mill

I

instinctively

eyes paused some yards from the the cliff, and began to open a nest ;

it

which was placed scarcely twenty inches from the foot of

common plant in the neighborShe was Bembex rostrata at work at

a swallow-wort, a rather

hood

of the ruin.

provisioning her nest.

Moved by

going on to breakfast,

curiosity, instead of

I

awaited the exit from the nest, which took place in about five

Bembex

minutes.

from the side of the I

looked

at

my

I to

Ought

w-atch

scratched the sand and took flight

cliff.

How

and

arose.

long would she be away?

go or to wait a little while ? I took the latter of malice, and without any idea of trying a

Out

decision.

control experiment to the admirable observations which

whom

science owes to the naturalist of Se'rignan, of

not thinking at

all, I

swallow-wort and planted it

about two

plant a I

little

feet,

it

a

little

to put in place of the

fragment of a bottle which

wasp dropped straight on

cut the plant, that

is

I

to say,

it

found

in the mill.

Twenty minutes where I had

to the place

deviated from

its

nest by a

distance about equal to the displacement to which

walked right and antennas, appearing confused as to the 126

subjected the swallow-wort. tating

its

was

nearer the mill, moving

and being careful

seated myself in the shade and waited.

later the

I

cut close to the sand the stalk of the

It

I

had

left, agi-

locality.

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT I

followed these goings and comings for two or three Several times

minutes.

it

always searching about.

was now relieved me,

to

near,

go back

made

about.

as

away and then returned, Pitying it and desiring, since I flew

to catch

if

it,

my

net and drawing

swinging the pocket rapidly

veered away with a quick jerk of the wings.

It

then took up the swallow-wort,

marked

which the heat had caused

of the fatigue

to breakfast, I took

lifting the

I

fragment which

original place, and replanted it in the sand. I again looked at my watch to see whether I could consecrate yet a few more minutes to curiosity without mak-

ing

my

its

kind host,

friend Dr.

my

who honored me with wait too long.

M

Ci;

Rivron, and his wife,

the charming hospitality of Kursac,

was only half past eleven ; we usually it would take only a

It

did not breakfast until about noon;

quarter of an hour to traverse the distance from the mill of

Caudan

to the house.

I

could then, without fear of be-

This lapse of time

ing chided, dispose of fifteen minutes.

would perhaps

suffice to

this time find the I

waited a

Bembex, coming the plant,

way

little;

still

show me whether my

my

would

minutes had not passed when my an arrow, alighted on the sand near

five

like

holding the prey which

she departed at

bestiole

to her nest without hesitation.

I

had noticed when

chasing her, after her vain attempts to

find the entrance to her nest

;

but this time she did not

hunt long. She felt about a little to right and left, but soon turned directly toward the entrance to the tunnel, distant scarcely two inches from the place where she had settled.

My Bembex

had a memory. 127

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

A

curious thing about these wasps, and one which

shows how much

work

common

to

all

the residents

be present, digging their nests, carrying in their

and chasing the parasites

with a tremendous amount of

Then suddenly

dance over the

field,

and

coming

at a time,

scene awakens to

life.

flies,

all

Nothing

gone.

re-

which keep up a giddy

for ten or fifteen

Then

place seems deserted.

humming and swooping

they are

mains but multitudes of

several

their hunting expedi-

At one time

booty, dashing at each other,

about.

that they

few minutes of each other, and returning

together after the chase.

seem

on

in waves, all starting off

tions within a

is

feeling they have,

minutes the

the wasps begin to return,

and as

More than

nothing home with them, and

if

by magic the whole

half of the

these

fall to

wasps bring

robbing their

more fortunate companions. Those that are carrying flies must pause a moment, burdened as they are, to scratch

away

the earth at the entrance to the nest.

unmolested they go in very quickly, but point that the marauders

it is

When

just at this

upon them, displaying an and energy in their attacks that, fall

amount

of persistence

were

properly directed, might easily enable them to

it

secure

flies

for themselves.

We once saw a wasp

that

had been fortunate enough,

or perhaps unfortunate enough, to catch an

128

immense

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT fly,

on both

the wings of which stood out

sides very con-

This made her an especial mark

spicuously.

for her

unprincipled relatives. Half a dozen of them chased her about, like chickens pursuing one of their

has found a worm.

She

and swooped around

circled

and

number

settled,

and

that

circled

for five or six minutes, continually

pursued and attacked by the robbers, and quite unable to get into her nest. At last, curious to see what she was carrying,

we made her drop her

We found

ourselves.

it

to

be a horse

showing no marks of violence.

we afterward

fed

it

to

load,

It

and secured

it

for

quite dead, but

fly,

was not wasted,

one of our wasp nurslings

at

for

home.

At another time we saw one wasp attack another that

was bringing owner

lost

in a

fly.

In the struggle that ensued the

her booty, as the two rolled over and over on

the ground, and as they parted

They and At

was

clinched again, and rolled on

this

time the

fly

was a male, and that

we

seized

this

by the

thief.

the ground as before,

was recovered by the

this point, thinking that

ship,

it

rightful owner.

perhaps one of the wasps

might be their

seized both of them;

style of court-

whereupon the

fly

was

to dropped, and the two wasps turned their attention us. Both proved to be females. Not only do

attacking the

Bembecids

their prey

-

-

fight in this

way

for the possession of

they quarrel even without apparent cause. 129

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

We

have seen two females digging

their nests at a

little

was repeatedly attacked by

distance apart, one of which

the other, although she did nothing to provoke the ag-

They

gressor.

no idea of

living in

ing manner, of

way

When

harmony.

and have

flying in a threaten-

either at us or at each other, they

wagging

side in a

In

are certainly very unneighborly,

way

their

abdomens

have a

from side

violently

to

well calculated to inspire terror.

warm sunny

weather spinolae works industriously

through the middle of the day, and seems determined to provide abundantly, not only for her for for.

any unbidden guests that

it

own

may be

She never works more than four or

offspring, but

her fate to care five

hours a day,

however, and in unfavorable weather she does not work

On

going over to the island one cloudy morning

at

all.

to

spend some hours

we found the

first

all

watching the Bembex

the spot quiet and

lifeless.

activities,

No one seeing it for

time would have dreamed of the multitudes of

living creatures

be

in

beneath his

closed, but

feet.

The

nests

seemed

to

on peering curiously about we found

one on sloping ground, in the suburbs of the colony, of

which the door was open. Just within was the proprietor gazing out on the landscape, as she tration.

She seemed

to

is

shown

in the illus-

be leaning on her elbows, and

her face, enlivened by two great goggle eyes, had an

130

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT irresistibly

comical aspect.

omnipresent

the exception of the

wasp was the only sign of life Even in good weather, and in working

flies,

about the place.

With

this

BEMBEX SPINDLY LOOKING OUT OF NEST hours, the wasps sometimes rest, for

we have

seen them

go in empty-handed, closing the door behind them, to

remain for half an hour

at a time. t

There

is

one thought that must strike even a casual

observer at the sight of the hordes of parasites that

hover over a

Bembex

colony:

-

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL "

The buzzing

flies,

a persevering train,

Incessant swarm, and chased return again."

Why do not these wasps, fession,

kill

fly-catchers as they are

the worthless wretches

homes, thriving abundantly on the a continual menace to the spring

To

?

it

fruits of their labor,

and

life

the uninitiated

by pro-

that infest their

safety of their off-

would seem that these

flies

might serve as food for the wasp larvae quite as well as any of the

dozen species that they actually take

;

but even

if

the wasp-mother believes that they possess indigestible qualities,

it

would be much

throw them away than to a

little

to

distance only to see

them return

she gives her attention to anything

reason for

it

the

certainly

flies is

explanation

own

may be, is

The but

idea

we

is

as soon as

Whatever the

else.

the relation between the wasps and

most curious and puzzling.

that since this miserable

part to play in nature,

thus preserving

them and

less trouble to kill

be perpetually chasing them

harmony

has

its

respect

it,

little fly

Bembex must

in the

Fabre's

world of living things.

perfectly in accord with his

own

find ourselves quite unable to accept

theories,

it.

There can be no doubt that the parasites are a grave danger to Bembex. She

suffers

from them

far

more than

any other wasp that we are familiar with, her mode of feeding the young rendering her peculiarly susceptible

132

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT Of

to their attacks.

opened only one was

the ten or twelve nests that

we

from them, the others con-

free

taining from two to five lively maggots nearly as large as the in

wasp

larvae,

by the mother.

which were sharing the food brought

thoroughly, has found as

one

nest.

are most

He

who has

Fabre,

many

studied the question

as ten parasitic larvae in

has also noticed that where the parasites

numerous the wasp-larva

is

proportionately

small and emaciated, reaching only one half or one third of it

its

normal

When

size.

it

attempts to spin

has not strength enough to do

miserably

among

so,

cocoon

its

and thus perishes

the pupae of the interlopers, which have

the advantage of developing more rapidly.

by experiments upon nests transported

He has proved,

to his study, that

although the invaders preserve friendly relations with the rightful

owner

of the nest so long as food

abun-

is

dant, they nevertheless, at the first suggestion of scarcity, fall

upon the wasp

larva

and

ruthlessly

'black action" he has seen with his of this base ingratitude,

we

are

with the troubles of the poor tries to

feed a dozen

devour

own

eyes.

it.

This

In view

more than ever impressed

Bembex mother,

as she

mouths where she has bargained

for

only one.

We several times saw a fly follow a wasp into her nest, remaining within for half a minute, and 133

it

is

probable

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

that they go in to lay their eggs. is

the habit of the

According

that are parasitic

flies

upon

dozen species of Bembex that he has studied

moment

men of

which the

at

projects

fly

to Fabre,

it

the half-

to seize the

from under the abdo-

wasp as she enters the nest and he has even known them to lay two or three eggs on one fly in the the

;

instant of time that

its

body was exposed.

Fabre took a partly grown Bembex larva from the nest,

where

He

flies.

making a

it

fed

was surrounded by the remains it

generously, and

total of

it

ate sixty-two more,

eighty-two in the eight days that

Our

passed before the spinning of the cocoon.

ments

in this line

of twenty

gave similar results.

We

experi-

took charge

grown larva on the afternoon of August tenth, and between that date and August fifteenth, when it of a partly

spun

its

cocoon,

it

ate forty-two house

flies

besides a big

Tabanus. Fabre thinks that under natural conditions the mother does not give the larva vides

it

all it

can eat at one time, but pro-

with what she considers a reasonable amount of

and keeps anything that she catches beyond out of its reach. He draws his conclusion from the food,

that he has found several

certainly

fact

in the tunnel leading to the

many more close to it. It be convenient for Bembex to have a

nest, while the larva

would

flies

this

had

as

134

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT reserve of this kind in case of rainy weather, but the

forethought implied in such an action seems to require a higher degree of intelligence than can be claimed for her.

In one nest we found a single

fly

with a long cylindri-

cal egg attached to the left side of the thorax just at the

origin of the third leg.

made and

provisioned,

which we judged

to

egg was laid on the

two days

to hatch.

In another, which we had seen

we

found, six days

be four days first

day,

it

old.

Assuming

must have taken

Other nests gave us

stages of development, surrounded

a larva

later,

that the it

about

larvae in all

by the remains of

among which Syrphus, Tabanus, and Musca

Diptera,

were represented. In regard to the condition of the

flies

captured by Bembex, we have never seen the crushing of the thorax, which is noted by both Wesenberg and Fabre. Indeed, the

flies

that

we found were

not always dead, since in

two instances they responded readily

to stimulation.

W. Dun-

Similar results have been obtained by Mr. S.

ning of Hartford, Connecticut.

Twice we have seen our

home her

spinolae, as she

prey, alight near the nest

held with the second pair of legs. cess distinctly, since she

is

and

We

was bringing

sting

it

as

it

was

could see the pro-

slow and clumsy, and, in jon 135

\^.

^

'

c

A -

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL instance, to

had

difficulty in

reaching the

one side in an awkward manner.

that this

is

It is

fly,

falling over

probable, then,

a habit with the wasp, but that the sting

is

usually given at the place of capture.

We opened a number of Bembex nests, in raising only

one larva, which we took when

grown. This one, during the it

five

although

flies, it

was

half

flies.

Mr. Bates has some notes on Monedula takes nothing but

it

days that passed before

spun the cocoon, ate forty-three

species,

but succeeded

and even confines

signata,

itself to

which

a single

must sometimes go half a mile away

BEMBEX to find

it.

This reminds us of Pompilus quinquenotatus,

which never takes anything but Epeira

A

strix.

considerable contribution to our knowledge of the

genus

Bembex has been made 136

in the

paper by Wesen-

}

'-

r <-x~^

-

v

~?^^iiV^^<^5r$riv^^^ "jf ^x&s-^Zzl

-~ 5*^* >'-^-. ^^j^-ifc ^ _^-

^. -

^r&*3

.^-:

*:

-K ^-o-Ttss^^i ^ - ^*-V^- ^i*^ ^ -^^^T

w. i\,2r-~ *~r

''

3i#SS?vv5 .-4 X>* il-T-Ci

?

-**<*

^^r-?Js-%^jeSSS^^^TS^^.^t?S*S

A CORNER OF THE BEMBEX COLONY

AN ISLAND SETTLEMENT berg (written in Danish) which has already been referred to.

This paper deals with Bembex

lated for

Mr. Ashmead by Mr. Martin

seems that rostrata makes

It

rostrata. It

its

covering little flat

stone, to prevent parasites

cell

Linell.

nest in solid sand,

up with loose sand, and usually,

it

was trans-

also,

from entering. The

measures one cubic inch, the entrance tunnel being

one and one half centimeters long, and arcuate. contains four or five fresh

and

with a

flies

A

cell

(Lucilia, Eristalis, etc.),

and

torn-off wings, sucked-out thoraces,

in the

mid-

dle of these, a big flat larva.

When

the larva

and more

flies,

is

the

hatched the mother brings more

flies

being larger and larger as

This adjustment of the

grows.

it

size of the fly to the

growth of the larva has also been noted by Fabre.

Wesenberg says spot as big as a

The time

He

one nest?

To

this giving five or six

" queries,

will nest

on a

of three months.

and

if so,

ing them with nests

young ones

is

for the

Does each female have more than

how can

determine this point

their

Bembecids

required for the development of the larva

two weeks, season.

that fifty

room during a period

she

we marked

remember them?" six

wasps by touch-

differently colored paints, putting near

pebbles painted to correspond with the

owners, and then watched them closely for three hours. 139

WASPS, SOCIAL During

this

AND SOLITARY

time the red wasp returned regularly to the

red nest, the blue to the blue, and so on.

watched

for

They were

an hour and a half on the following day

with the same

result, so that

spinolae has only

it

seems quite certain that

one nest at a time.

at once, with interlopers

thrown

in,

To

feed two larvae

would be a heavier

task than the most determined industry could accomplish.

Chapter VII

THE BURROWERS in describing the fearful ravages of Cer-

DUFOUR, ceris ornata among the bees, says that of this genus are

among

hawks are among does not seem to

other insects what eagles and

While

birds.

fit

the

the wasps

this characterization

American

species,

it is

certainly

true that the genus stands out as one of those in

which

the distinctive peculiarities are strongly marked.

They

might be considered the aristocrats in the world of wasps, their habits of reposeful meditation

hurried ways being far removed

and

their calm, un-

from the nervous

ners of the Pompilidae or the noisy, tumultuous

Bembex. Their

intelligence

to betray their nests, slight

change

is

shown by

and by

to

life

of

their reluctance

their uneasiness at

in the objects that

not necessary to attempt

man-

surround them.

catch them or to

any It is

make

threatening gestures, in order to arouse their sense of

danger.

If

you are

sitting quietly

by a nest when the

wasp opens her door in the morning she will at once, and will probably drop out of sight 141

notice

you

as though

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

she resented your intrusion into her privacy. little

After a

come up again and will learn to tolerate the least movement on your part, almost at

she will

you, but at

the winking of an eyelid, she will disappear.

Our

four representatives of this genus

all

prey upon

beetles that are injurious to

vegetation,

and therefore

de-

serve the gratitude of agri-

Nigrescens, with

culturists.

her pale grayish bands,

is

a

very trying wasp to deal with.

We had seen her flying in the

fore

about

garden for weeks be-

we succeeded

ing her home,

in track-

and when we

did succeed she was so late

about getting up in the morning, stayed

so

away from home

many hours at a time, and

went

to

bed so early

afternoon, that

nest

front

all

day.

Fumipennis,

and handsome, with a broad yellow band of the

abdomen,

not

well repaid for watching her

NEST OF CERCERIS NIGRESCENS

large

in the

we were

is

another wasp

142

at the

that has

no

THE BURROWERS regard for the convenience of the people

You may

ing her.

sit

for hours

when she comes she drops

unless you are very

in

much on your

guard, you are not sure even then what she

and

are watch-

by her big open hole

without seeing her, and so suddenly that,

who

is.

Clypeata

deserta are better subjects for study.

The very

nests of our species are all deep, tortuous,

difficult to excavate.

We

and

have never succeeded in

finding their pockets;

and

we

reasons,

various

for

yet,

feel

per-

fectly certain that

of

them

are

like

all

C.

ornata in provisioning, successively, a

of cells of

which lead out

main

the

When

number

one of these

deposited,

it

CERCERIS CLYPEATA

gallery.

is

cells is filled

with food, and the egg

probably closed up, and thus separated

from the runway.

From our

experience late in the

season with the nests of another wasp, to think that ets

at the

higher up,

we made

we

are inclined

a mistake in looking for pock-

lower end of the tunnel.

Had we

at the point of the curve,

searched

we might have

found them, the lower part of the gallery probably being 143

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

designed merely for a dwelling-place for the mother of the family.

But although we did not

get distinct pockets, there

was, in at least one nest, a supply of food that would

have far exceeded the wants of a single larva.

We

did not succeed in finding eggs on different groups of beetles

;

but from a nest into which the wasp was

we took a half-grown being hers. The fact, too,

larva which

carrying food

still

was

that a

wasp occu-

pies a nest for so long a time as ten days or

two weeks

points to the conclusion that she uses

number

of

once.

In

identified as

eggs which are

Cerceris digs her nest, deep as this she is

it

for a

laid at intervals. it is,

all at

a contrast to her near relatives of the genus

Philanthus,

who busy

themselves for an hour or so every

morning with fresh excavations.

On

the eighth of July the weather

bright that

we went down

eight o'clock,

knowing

to the

that

it

was

garden

so

warm and

at half past

was rather

early,

but

hoping that the hot sunshine would tempt the wasps to industry.

when

A

We had walked up and down several times,

suddenly, right in the pathway, a nest appeared.

great quantity of loose earth

had been taken out and

heaped up, probably on the preceding day, and midst of this a

little

in the

hole had been opened since

144

we

THE BURROWERS The

passed before.

down

sat

to

watch

place looked so promising that

it,

and a few minutes

rewarded by a glimpse of some antennse down the lery,

we

we were

later

gal-

and then a little face with yellow markings appeared

but quickly vanished.

Now

followed a very coquettish

The wasp came

performance.

and again, only

to

slowly creeping

up again

drop out of sight as soon as she had

reached the opening. After a time she grew bolder, and sat in her

doorway, twitching her head

that in a very expressive

this

way and

manner, as though she were

planning the work of the day; but

it

was plain

that

although she was up early, business cares were not

weighing heavily upon her mind, for forty minutes passed before she came out of the nest, and after making three or four circles about the spot, flew away.

How much livelier and more interesting it would have been if we could have followed her! We tried to guess at

what she was doing, and imagined her hunting

dustriously.

After fifteen or twenty minutes

to us that she

at all,

in-

seemed

must have caught something, and

she was surely returning.

working

it

that

Most probably she was not

but was breakfasting leisurely and ex-

changing compliments with her neighbors for when she ;

did

come home

and a

after

keeping us waiting for an hour

half, she brought nothing with her, and seemed

145

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

quite unconscious of the fact that greater things

been expected of

We mark

had

her.

had placed a stone upon a dead

near by, to

leaf

the neighborhood of the nest, thinking that even a

Cerceris could not object to so simple an arrangement

wasp noticed it at once, and She evidently with much suspicion and disapproval.

of natural objects; but our

began by

on

alighted it,

in

above

circling several times just it

and examined

it

carefully,

and creeping underneath, perhaps any way menaced the safety of her

She then rose on her wings, and

dropped suddenly

cling,

So far

from

this

hurry,

nest,

may

it

perhaps as

the day before.

after a little

getting

more

cir-

on very rapidly, but

time things took a turn. Cerceris yet she

whether

into her hole.

we had not been

and

she

walking over

to see

made

the completion of a locality study

Then

it.

is

never in a

be relied upon to do a certain

work every day. The one that we were now watching had probably come back for a final look at her

amount

of

newly made nest before beginning

to provision

it;

for

she soon reappeared, and this time really went to work, since in forty minutes she brought

home a

beetle

which

she carried by the snout, venter up, in her mandibles,

supporting

it

with the second pair of legs while flying.

She was much annoyed

at

our presence, and circled

146

THE BURROWERS about as before. Twice she alighted near by, and walked

around

few minutes, and when she did

for a

her feet came

down

to the

At

allowed to hang loosely.

bad matter, and went

in.

this all

ground, the beetle being

made

the best of a

rest of the

morning was

she

last

The

occupied with hunting, the capture of each beetle taking

Every time that she came

about forty-five minutes.

home

she spent fifteen or twenty minutes in the nest.

This species soon became very common, and for two

weeks scarcely a morning passed without our finding least

ever,

one newly-made

The

nest.

at

study of clypeata, how-

consumes a great deal of time.

For example, we

found, one morning, two nests within six inches of each other. It turned out afterward that these

by two

different

wasps but ;

at the

were inhabited

moment we supposed

them had been dug and deserted and then a second one made, and wishing to know which one was that one of

occupied

we

resolved to watch

for three hours

and

we saw one wasp

see.

After waiting

returning; but

upon

noticing us she veered off and began to circle about.

She was heavily laden, and her burden, instead of being supported by the second pair of case,

hung down under

legs, as is

the thorax

sometimes the

and abdomen. After

a moment she alighted on a plant near by, and seemed to consider the situation, then circled a little more, and 147

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

flew away, remaining out of sight for fifteen minutes,

then another return, more circlings and hesitations. She

seemed

now, and alighted

to feel the weight of the beetle

and walked about;

frequently on the ground

would not go

in, so reluctant

was she

yet she

to betray her nest.

way she kept us waiting for a whole hour, although we were not very near to her, and were as In this

still

as statues.

At

last

back as we could and

now came for a

we

still

closer, and, after

moment, dropped

retreated,

and stood

as far

keep the hole in view.

She

hanging poised on her wings

into her nest.

We once found a nest of this species in process of conA

struction.

out,

which

large

heap of fresh earth had been pushed

entirely covered the spot; but at intervals

there were upheavals from below which betrayed the

presence of the wasp.

When we saw

it first it

was

half

and we judged, from what had been accomplished, that she must have been at work at least an hour. It was half past nine before the excavation was

past eight o'clock,

We

had not been

up to this time, as to what we were watching but now we had the pleasure of seeing her open her doorway from below and stand complete.

certain,

;

in the entrance while she feet, like

the

When

fore

mouth

of the hole

which are yellow, are bowed

in a semi-

a cat.

first legs,

washed her face with her

they rest at the

148

THE BURROWERS circle

on each side of the yellow

being bent up their elbows.

bex

This

spinolse, gives

legged appearance.

morning

at

face, the distal joints

so that the wasps seem to be standing on attitude,

them a

They

often seen in

Bem-

delightfully amusing,

bow-

which

is

usually open their nests in the

about nine o'clock,

-

-

a

little

earlier or later

according to the time at which the sun strikes the spot.

Then they spend from forty minutes to an hour in taking a survey, the least movement on the part of a watcher causing them to drop out of sight as given

the earth

if

Sometimes there

way beneath them.

is

a

had little

way-station an inch or two within the tunnel, and the

wasp

falls

seen,

if

back only

to this point,

and here she may be

one peeps in cautiously, either quietly awaiting

the retreat of the intruder, or, perhaps, performing her toilet in

a leisurely and elegant manner.

Whenever she

leaves her nest she

makes

three or four

rapid circles around the spot to freshen her

The most thorough

the locality.

made by clypeata was before, that

was

of our being

When

she stayed only an instant posit her load

wasp mentioned

so long in carrying her beetle in because

on the ground.

-

study

in the case of the

memory of that we saw

-

she finally did go in

just long

enough

to de-

and then came out and spent a long

time in an investigation of

all

149

the surrounding objects,

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

and out among the plants, now high, now low, and circling again and again around the spot. It looked

flying in

as though she

presence of

had been puzzled and disturbed by the things. As soon as the survey

unaccustomed

was over she went its

object

and closed the door,

inside

had been not

so

much

as though

to strengthen her

mem-

ory as to correct former impressions.

The work ularly,

and

of bringing in beetles goes as a rule not

on very

more than two

stored in the course of a day.

It is

or three are

not unusual for cly-

peata to spend three or four hours away from

then come back without anything

irreg-

;

and

home and

often,

even in

the middle of the day, she passes an hour or two in the seclusion of her nest.

vation for a

week

We had several nests under obser-

at a time without ever

once seeing the

owners, although they were evidently occupied, since they were sometimes open and sometimes closed. outer entrance

is

always

open when the wasp goes

left

away, although possibly access to the pockets barred below; but unless she is

when

The

may

be

she enters she closes the door

means to come out again at

once.

The

closing

sometimes effected by pushing the earth up backwards,

with the end of the large for this

comes up head

abdomen but ;

the hole

is

rather too

method, and more frequently the wasp first,

carrying a load of earth in her front

150

THE BURROWERS This

legs.

placed just within and to one side of the

and then more armfuls are brought up,

entrance, after

is

two or three

We

trips, the

is

opening

once captured the wasp in a

entirely filled.

bottle, as she re-

She dropped the

turned, loaded, to the nest.

until,

beetle,

up again and stung it vigorously, with as the French say, first under the neck, and

but soon picked intention,

it

then further back, behind the

After

pair of legs.

first

was dropped while the wasp fluttered about for a few minutes, but it was then picked up again, and stung this

it

as before.

exactly the

We

both saw

same way, four

this operation

repeated in

different times, with intervals

of five or six minutes between.

In a nest which we excavated after watching nine days,

down, and

we found nothing until we had gone at this point the tunnel

with the crumbly earth that

was

we took

lost

;

it

for

six inches

but mixed

out of the hole,

we

found eight beetles and a half-grown larva of clypeata.

The

was accomplished one

destruction of this nest

morning, and when we came back to the spot twentyfour hours later

we found

close by, doubtless

that a

by the same

new one had been made individual.

pected to find her bringing beetles foolishly

ornata,

on the ground

and were

like

We

had

ex-

and dropping them

Paul Marchal's Cerceris

gratified that she

showed an advance

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

in intelligence over that species, although to be sure she

would have been

wiser had she chosen an entirely

still

new neighborhood.

Another individual was so much

disturbed by our scrutiny that she dropped her beetle at the entrance to her nest.

and

utilize

although

it,

it

She did not pick

it

up again

lay for three days in the dust at

the threshold.

As in the

to the condition of the beetles stored first

nest that

we opened we found

by clypeata

:

eight, seven of

which were dead, while the eighth, which we had

just

seen stung several times, was alive, but died on the

fol-

lowing day.

The second

them dead and

we found there

Of

dry.

nest gave us five beetles,

all

of

In the other nests that we opened

nothing, though

had we only been

we knew

skillful

that the beetles were

enough

to discover

them.

Cerceris deserta, which closely resembles clypeata,

but appears later in the season, ample.

We

we had

only a single ex-

chanced to see her dropping into a crevice

among some lumps believe that this

of earth,

and

at first could scarcely

was the dwelling-place

of a wasp, as

was nothing whatever about it to indicate a nest; and even after we had removed the rough pieces of earth

there

above,

we could

see nothing of the loose material that

must have been carried She was much

out.

like clypeata in her

152

manners, with the

THE BURROWERS same habit

of surveying the world

from her doorway,

and manifesting the same annoyance at our presence when she was returning to the nest; but she carried in

more

beetles in the course of the

day and worked much

CERCERIS DESERTA: LOCALITY STUDY BEFORE

LEAVING NEST

more

Between nine and eleven o'clock one

rapidly.

morning she brought

in five loads,

and some

of the

journeys occupied only ten minutes.

The circled

first

about for nearly an hour, seeming unable to

make up little

time that she found us sitting by her nest she

her

mind

way, but

to enter.

still

At length we withdrew a

her suspicions were not entirely

153

WASPS, SOCIAL allayed;

and

after a further study of the situation she

own

dropped, not into her

nest,

but into a large cricket

Taken aback by this manoeuvre, and perhaps we had a second individual to

hole near by.

thinking that deal with,

AND SOLITARY

we

approached, and peering

stealthily

in,

could see the cricket inside, the wasp having slipped It

beyond.

did not seem possible that the

little

creature

could be endeavoring to deceive us, and yet what other explanation could be offered for her conduct

?

We again

took up our distant position, and after ten minutes more

had the

satisfaction of seeing the

wasp

slip

out of the

and drop instantly into the true one. After a she became quite accustomed to us, and entered

false nest little

her nest without the least delay.

The prey of deserta we were watching

while

the second legs, even

much

is

it

main

with

flying.

a pretty

little

yellow-banded

resembling Cerceris in appearance.

nest consists of a it,

her she did not support

when

Philanthus punctatus species

held in the mandibles, and

is

gallery with pockets leading

The from

each pocket being stored with one egg and enough

bees to nourish a single larva.

from the cocoon they

and they

the wasps emerge

find themselves in the

their nearest relatives

place,

When

all live

and

company

of

in possession of a dwelling-

together for a time before starting

154

THE BURROWERS On

out independently to seek their fortunes. of

the fifth

August we discovered on the island a happy family of

and four

this kind, consisting of three brothers

sisters,

and mandi-

the females, with their bright yellow faces

bles, being handsomer than the males. They seemed to be on the most amicable terms with each other, their

only trouble being that while they were

doorway was too small

ing out, the

The

at a time.

was opened

nest

all

to hold

in the

fond of look-

more than one

morning

at

about

nine o'clock, and during the next thirty or forty minutes their comical

faces

little

would appear, one

after an-

other, each

wasp enjoying the view for a few minutes with many twitchings of the head, and then retreating to

make way

for another,

Then one by one

hint from behind. out, circle

perhaps in response to some they would

come

about the spot, and depart, sometimes leaving

one of their number to keep house usually

left

within,

it

the hole open; but

all

when

day alone. They there

was soon closed from below.

was a wasp During

this

playtime period they did not return until they were

ready to

home

settle

down

at half after

arriving at intervals, five.

for the night, the first

none of them staying out

Most commonly they found

trouble, scratched

one coming

two or three o'clock, and the others

open the

hole,

155

later

than

the right spot without

and then

either closed

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL it

behind them or stood waiting in the doorway for the

next arrival; but occasionally they had difficulty in locating the nest, and worked at two or three different places before finding

We

it.

kept these wasps under close observation, often

watching the nest from the moment

morning

until

it

was closed

On we

August, a week from the time that

one of the females

down upon began

her.

felt

was opened

it

at night.

in the

the twelfth of

first

saw them,

the responsibilities of

life settling

At half

after four in the afternoon she

to enlarge the nest,

and worked with a great deal

of energy for forty minutes.

After a long disappearance

come up backwards, kicking earth which was not only taken

within the hole she would

behind her a quantity of outside, but

was then spread out

worked with the inward, after the

front pair of legs,

manner

or some such object it

of

came

to a distance with her

her with her head in a

is

much

half inches

in her

way

is

She

which were curved

Bembex; and when a pebble

way

she either dragged it

before

quite peculiar to herself.

was taken

from the nest

greater than

and wide.

mandibles or pushed

distributing the earth that

and one

far

-

out, she -

went

In five

a distance which

common among

wasps, but

which accords well with the habits of punctatus, since she continues the work of excavation from day to day.

156

THE BURROWERS On August ing,

thirteenth, at half after eight in the

we found

morn-

that a second female, perhaps inspired

the example of her

by

sister,

had made a new

nest

within two inches of the first

one,

away,

and had flown

leaving

it

open.

Presently the other wasps

began

to appear,

one after

the other, in their door-

Two

way.

flew away, that

PHILANTHUS PUNCTATUS of the males

and one

of the females, doubtless the one

we had seen digging

work

afresh at

the night before, began to

making the

Probably she

nest larger.

was excavating a pocket for the reception of an egg, and the amount of labor required was ernormously increased by the great length (about twenty-two inches) of the

main

gallery

be carried out.

by which the displaced earth must

She worked

for

an hour, and

ing the dirt about, inadvertently of the second nest.

filled in

in spread-

the opening

At length she flew away.

At ten o'clock a female arrived carrying a tried to find nest

No.

2.

She came

and worked about, here and

bee,

and

to the

there, for

wrong place, some minutes,

holding the bee under the thorax, clasped by the second 157

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

pair of legs. Being unsuccessful, she dropped her burden,

and flew away

we removed a

for a

While she was gone

few minutes.

had

leaf that

fallen over her nest,

and on

her return she at once descended upon the right spot,

and began

open the entrance, the bee being

to scratch

When

kicked backward with the rejected earth.

way was

clear, however, she picked

toward the

dropped

hole,

nearer, ran in again,

it,

it

ran in and out, brought

it

and turning around

performance was due

closed, pauses

on the wing

the

The bee

first legs.

she goes

in,

it

down. This

that

is

to scratch

punctatus

when

directly into her nest, or,

flies

ordinarily

and pulled

in the tunnel,

to the accidental obstruction of

we afterward found

for

the

up, brought

seized the bee in her mandibles

the gallery,

it

is

it

an opening with

pushed backward a

little

as

but does not often project from under her

abdomen. At

fifteen

minutes after ten the worker from nest No.

i

brought in a bee, and from that time the two worked industriously.

ways, for

No.

They showed some 2

away, and never circled at circled before leaving,

To be sure,

there

haps she did not

individuality in their

always closed her door all,

while No.

and always

was a female feel the

when

left

left

invariably

her nest open.

on guard, so

need of caution. 158

i

she went

that per-

THE BURROWERS Our wasps had

not far to go for their victims.

Forty

away, on the eastern side of the island, was a steep

feet

declivity,

and

here, in the soft

No

Halictus settlement.

than

soil,

was a great

can be imagined

prettier sight

presented by this colony on every sunny

is

The whole bank

day.

crumbly

is

riddled with nests,

summer

and

at the

entrance of each stands a female bee, her tiny head exactly filling the opening.

The

bees are constantly arriv-

ing, laden with pollen, whereupon the sentinels politely

back inward

to

make way

for them.

Into this scene of

contented industry descends the ravaging Philanthus, taking guards and workers alike.

On

the afternoon of the fourteenth of August our two

wasps were

in the full tide of affairs.

No.

i

took in eleven

bees within two hours, but her record was somewhat

confused, as two other females were going in and out at the

same

time.

We

hunting, but one of

felt

sure that neither of these was

them shared

in the labor of the nest

by helping with the work of excavation. No.

2,

definite

however, was alone, so that we could keep a

account of her comings and goings.

her from half past one until

came home without a

load,

five,

and

at

at

We watched

which hour she

once closed the nest

for the night, after having stored thirteen bees in three

hours and nine minutes.

In some cases the capture of 159

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

the bee occupied only one, two, or three minutes, while

was gone much longer. At each return she stayed only an instant - just long enough to deinside the nest, and then spent a minute posit the bee at other times she

-

-

The wasps

in carefully closing the hole. in

and out

No.

of nest

went away, but

this

i

that were going

sometimes closed

was done

in

it

when

from the nicety and precision of No.

different

At half

after five o'clock the

ging for

some

opened

it,

little

wasp

time at nest No.

and attempted

to

they

an untidy fashion, quite

i

enter,

2.

had been

that

flew to nest

dig-

No.

2,

but was quickly

driven out by the owner. She then dug a

little

in several

other places, finally returning to sleep in the family

home.

On the next day we found that No.

ing in her nest one of the females that to hunt, but

whether

it

On

tell.

wasp had

left this

herself four feet still

member

begun

rejected the

temporary home and made a nest

away on the

the weather

to

yet

of the sisterhood,

hillside.

we

for

The males were

two females.

was cold and cloudy punctatus

remained closely housed within the

came out

tolerat-

the eighteenth, three days later, the

living in the first nest with

When

was

had not

was the one she had

night before or the fourth

could not

2

nest, or, at most,

do an hour's digging, and then disappeared.

The warmer

the weather,

and the more

1 60

brilliant the

THE BURROWERS more rapidly they worked. When leaving they would often creep out and walk around

sunshine, the the nest it

three or four times before rising

on

their wings,

and

even then would sometimes alight once or twice before flying

The

away.

males, especially, liked to stand about

for a time,

watching their more industrious

their work.

The

ging,

sisters

at

females usually began the day with dig-

and frequently closed

it,

toward night, in the same

way. In order to see the method of stinging, we at one time provided ourselves with a number of bees, and putting

one of them into a it

bottle,

introduced a wasp. She seized

almost immediately, with great vigor, and stung

it

up and down the bottle by one antenna which was held in the mandibles. After a moment she shifted it and held it with

once, under the neck, and then dragged

the second legs in the usual way. bee,

which she

it

We now put in another

also caught, stung in the

same

place,

then dropped without relaxing her hold of the

As she seemed released her,

to

and

one.

have nothing further to show us we after circling a little she took into her

nest the bee that she

was

carrying.

In our next experiment we used a larger

glass, thinking

more space we might see malaxation. The that the wasp was introduced she grasped the

that with instant

first

and

161

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

bee with one rapid powerful motion, and stung

Then

under the neck as before. second legs she began to

fly

with the

glass.

We now

introduced another bee, whereupon the relinquished,

stinging

of the operation,

and

shown by

one was

in exactly the

was the beginning and the end

and when we released her she

took the bee into the nest. outside,

first

and the second was treated

same way. The

just

it

holding

about in the

it

at

once

There was no malaxation

certainly there

was none

within, as

was

the rapidity with which the wasps issued from

We

the nest after storing the bees. getting the

wasps

ment with those

to sting only

were successful in

when we

that were hunting.

tried the experi-

When those that had

not yet begun to store their nests were put into the glass

they paid no attention to the bees.

The Life

This

victim of the sting of punctatus extinct

is is

from

is

killed at once.

the instant that the stroke

true also of the honey-bee that

is

is

given.

the victim of

Fabre's Philanthus apivorus; but the explanation that

he gives of the action of his wasp in thus dealing sudden death instead of paralyzing

its

foe

must be sucked out of the bee before as food for the larva since the

pollen

-

-

it

-

that the

honey

can be safely used

does not hold good in our case,

honey that Halictus

upon which her

-

carries to

offspring are fed,

162

is

mix with the not removed.

THE BURROWERS As time went on we found on

the island two other

Philanthus colonies, although that

word

to

apply to

and the other

is

rather too large a

them, since one consisted of four nests

When we came

of only two.

the nests of this species

we were

to excavate

greatly astonished at

the length of the gallery, and not until then did

we prop-

erly appreciate the industry of these little wasps.

It is

no small undertaking to follow one of their tunnels for

NEST OF PHILANTHUS PUNCTATUS A-B, 3j inches; B-C,

5

D-E,

inches;

C-D,

14 inches;

8 inches

twenty-two inches, even when, as in this case, the greater part of

it is

parallel to the surface of the ground.

was very crumbly we worked, but we came upon clumps of

did not find distinct pockets, as the

and

fell

in as

We

soil

bees an inch or so to one side of the gallery and about three

inches apart, with larvae in different stages of

development.

In one nest we found twenty-six bees in 163

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL two clumps, some of them fresh,

but

all

quite dead.

half- eaten,

We

and some

have no doubt that punc-

tatus completely provisions one pocket

opening from other,

The

and

closes the

into the gallery, before she starts an-

it

making a

them

of

series of six or eight

provision for one larva

is

cells.

independent

probably twelve or four-

teen bees, the capture of which, in good weather, would

be a

fair day's

work.

That the males do not always stay on in their ancestral home is shown by an observation that we made on the only occasion that

Nothing was

we ever saw this species

in our garden.

stirring at half past three o'clock in the

afternoon, and we had given up work and

started for

home, when, in going up an inclined part of the

we

hole which ran obliquely into the ground.

strange that a late

wasp should be beginning

an hour; but a wasp

when we took an

backward with

scarcely settled of the fuss

same

and

it

was, as

we

its

its

nest at so

to

began

It

was

mandibles, and then pushing

hind legs and abdomen.

down

seemed

could plainly see

watching

it

We

had

when a second one

species appeared, and with

flutter

its

It

attitude sufficiently humble.

loosening the earth with it

field,

noticed something in motion within a ragged-edged

a

good deal of

to dig its hole close by.

The

spot

chosen by this second one proved unsatisfactory, and 164

THE BURROWERS made

another beginning was

in a

new

At

last,

Again

place.

something was wrong, nor was a third choice any

better.

however, the work was started in earnest, and

might have been carried caught the

to a conclusion

if

we had

not

creature to satisfy a suspicion that had

little

been growing in our minds.

Yes,

we were

The

right.

worker was not a female making a nest for the rearing of her young, but a

male punctatus, preparing a

shelter

for the night.

In the

mean time

the

a quantity of earth that

wasp had pushed back such the hole was entirely closed, but

first

came backing out to clear the way. an hour all became quiet. The door

every few minutes he

At the end of half

remained closed, and doubtless the wasp was

fast asleep.

Putting a blade of grass and then an inverted tumbler

over the nest,

On

we

left

him

removing the glass

for the night. at half past seven the next

morning, we found the nest open but the wasp not ble.

At half past

eight the

head appeared

hole, the long antennae twitching

now

visi-

just inside the

to this side,

now

an inspection were being made. Soon the

to that, as

if

head came

out.

The wasp

stood for some minutes

ing a survey, looking to right

and

left

mak-

with lively jerks

of the body.

Then, apparently concluding that the day

was not

enough advanced, he came

far

165

out, whirled

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY He

around, and ran head-first into the nest.

was quiet

took another nap, for all

when

o'clock,

was taken

At

head in view. circles,

from within and then with the

first

he flew

last

He

stayed out

at half past three in the

at half past four

all

last,

about the place,

day, and

had not returned

afternoon

we found

and making three

out,

each one wider than the

flew away.

The survey

the antennae appeared again.

as before,

probably

until just before ten

that he

;

but on going

had gone

down

and closed

in

the door from below. It is clear, then, that

new

these males do not construct a

lodging every night, but return to the same spot to

Other wasps creep

sleep.

found them,

in the

We

into crevices.

have often

morning, in the holes of the posts of

our cottage porch; but we are glad to be able to put

down

one male that he has

to the credit of

foresight

and industry

to provide

sun warns him that evening

While punctatus was

sufficient

a sleeping-place, and

sufficient intelligence to return to the spot

clining

it

is

when

the de-

approaching.

in the height of

its

activity

we

found another species, P. ventilabris, taking bees of several genera

and

species into a

ground

nest.

carried her prey with her second pair of legs,

ever she

shy

little

left

her nest she closed the door.

thing,

and did not approve 166

She also

and whenShe was a

of our interest in

THE BURROWERS her.

At one time, being

startled

by some movement on

our part, she dropped her load and flew away. the bee

upon the

closed nest,

We placed

and when she came back

with another, she paused and looked at

it,

took in the

one she was carrying, and then returned for number

was placed on the threshold while she entered and turned around, and was then pulled in. Some wasps, one. This

notably C. ornata and our in their prey,

even

if

little

tornado, refuse to take

they have caught

excepting in a regular succession of events

more reasonable conduct

To

;

themselves,

and thus the

of ventilabris gains in interest.

the west of Milwaukee, across the valley of the

Menominee,

rises

kingdom by

itself.

little

it

a sandy hilltop which

is

a

little

insect

Ants of course abound, and the gentle

solitary bees, with their loads of pollen,

may be

seen everywhere, seeming to melt into the ground, so

quickly and quietly do they open their burrows.

Oxybelus plys her trade of

fly-catching,

Here

and graceful

Ammophila dances with her shadow over

the sunny

ground, while Cerceris rests in her doorway with an air of leisurely superiority to the vulgar cares of here,

life

;

and

one day in early July, a sudden access of energy

seemed

to strike

we had found

Aphilanthops frigidus, a wasp which

a year before taking in the wingless queens

of ants. All at once they were digging everywhere, biting

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

and scratching with great energy, and soon disappearing in the depths of their

primary gallery that even in

them the

best part of a

but once finished the season. vestibule

it

day

this easy

to get

doubtless serves as a

herself,

and

difficult

;

home through

little

cup-shaped enters,

then, after she has

turned around, coming back to pull a very

takes

it

where the wasp drops the ant as she

running out of sight

is

medium

their

is

ready for storing

it

has at the entrance a

It

So deep

sandy tunnels.

it

within. This nest

one to excavate neatly, as the sand

falls

at the slightest touch.

A

day or two

after

we had

residential arrangements,

seen frigidus

we found

making her

twenty-five or thirty

within a few feet of each other, working with great ardor at carrying in queens, the doors being left closed or

according to individual ers

judgment. The

steadiest

open

work-

brought one every forty minutes, scarcely pausing

made

inside the nest, but others

ing the door closed.

body with

all

The

long stays within, leav-

ants were carried under the

the legs folded around them, but they

were heavy things, and were often dropped as the wasp flew across the

field,

giving opportunities for robbery

We

that were promptly taken advantage

of.

one of these ants and placed

doonvay of a wasp

that

had

just

gone

in.

it

in the

picked up

She came up twice, looked 168

at

it,

-A,' ;'

"

"

'

(

Wi*WSS,

.;''\i\jA^Y v

'*' ;

1

'"'"-"j'^v'

'

.'^''^^

ifesilS^^^H

THE BURROWERS and backed down again; but the third time she touched

it,

then seized

and took

it

it

half

had turned and come up

below.

When

an inch away.

for

first

From

an-

we took the ant she had

other wasp that was just entering

dropped and moved

it

she

she seemed surprised,

it,

came out and looked about, found

it

and dropped

it

in

the doorway, going in herself to turn around as before.

We

move

seized this chance to

came

found

out,

was repeated

We

it

up

took

five times,

sixth time, after

picked

it,

it

again,

and again she

back, and dropped

it

but when she took

dropping

it,

it

it.

This

in for the

she whirled around and

so quickly that our malice

was

foiled.

were puzzled by the actions of a wasp that ap-

proached her nest again and again, but always circled

away without entering, until looking closely we saw that she was pursued by two tiny flies. When she alighted and walked about awhile with her ant tucked under the third leg on one side, the

walked about behind

flies

alighted also

and

In the end she evaded them

her.

by a sudden drop into her

hole.

A

wasp now came circling along with an ant in her grasp, and settled down between two small weeds that grew about four inches apart.

She stood quiet a mo-

ment and then began to dig, but had evidently struck the

wrong

spot, for after a

moment 171

she

moved and

tried

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL Not

another place.

finding the entrance, she rose

and began

to scratch

For ten minutes she

persisted,

flew close under one of the plants again, but

still

in vain.

and

keeping within a few inches of the spot, and holding on to the ant all the time, although

it

was dreadfully

in her

way as she walked about. Then she dropped it and began to dig more vigorously, dividing her attention between the two spots she

had attempted

at

She seemed

first.

troubled at having to leave the ant, and often picked

up and

tried to hold

while she would take

Once

while she worked.

it

it

in a

with her, and after circling

it

about the spot would disappear, but in a few minutes she would return.

It

seemed

to us that

two

little

plants

growing near together must have been her landmarks,

and

that probably she

had been deceived by the

like-

ness that those before us bore to the ones near her nest.

Again and again she seemed

to hesitate

and think the

matter over, but gradually one of the holes absorbed her more and more. At the end of an hour she was out of sight in

she was

it,

still

and had carried her ant down, although

kicking out sand.

memory had played

her

false,

It

was evident

that her

and that she had

either

covered her hole so neatly that she could not find the spot herself, or

accommodated

had missed herself

to

the place entirely.

circumstances

172

She had

pretty

well,

THE BURROWERS although she ought to have realized earlier that

it

would

be easier to dig one nest than two.

We now tried

to excavate a nest,

we found clumps

the tunnel, although

ent levels, est

some with

ant as

and tied a thread to part

way down

great depth bitten

A

larvae feeding

as

off,

it.

it

of ants at differ-

on them. The deep-

were eighteen inches down. Hoping

we borrowed an

it

but could not follow

to secure a guide,

was dropped

The wasp

in the

doorway

in

and took

it

pulled

with this attachment

;

but before any

was reached, the thread was seemingly

we found

the free end without the ant.

second attempt brought no better

results.

So long as we were quiet the wasps did not notice but after being disturbed they

became shy and

about a good deal before entering.

Some

of the ants

were completely paralyzed, while others moved

abdomens,

legs,

and mouth

parts. All

whole place was in a

ing, the

us,

circled

their

through the morn-

bustle, but

when we came

back, after eating our luncheon in a shady spot, quiet reigned

;

the colony seemed asleep,

and although we

waited for an hour not a wasp showed herself.

The

ants that these wasps were bringing

The European genus

all

had wings.

Fertonius takes worker ants which

can be picked up anywhere; but so far as we know, these queens leave the nest only at the time of their

173

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

nuptial flight, after which the wings are are they captured

much

?

Can

it

How

lost.

be that the wasps, though not

larger than their prey, descend into the

the ants, bearding the lions in their den, off their

young queens by

then

force of

home

of

and carrying

arms ? This smacks

of heroism.

Much

interested in the matter,

the ant-hills of hill

to

she had wanted to enter, but

we found some

larger

examined

admit

frigidus,

of the

supposing

down on the roadside below

doorways and

sat

down

beside

We had scarcely arrived when a frigidus appeared

on the scene, alighting have come be

carefully

the neighborhood. Those on top

had openings too small

them.

we

true,

six feet

hunting so soon

That she should

away.

seemed almost too good

but she certainly was not doing anything

She did not

dig,

nor feed on the clover, nor

circle

else.

about

as though looking for her nest, but began to clean

brush herself assiduously. blade,

and swinging

at

Then

she climbed a

tall

the top went through some

ous gymnastic performances.

Then

to

and

grass curi-

she brushed herself

again, drawing her third legs over the sides of her abdo-

men. This went on from moment

to

moment,

until half

an hour had passed, and more than once the painful suspicion crossed our minds that this

male

putting

in

the hours

174

was some

between

trifling

breakfast

and

THE BURROWERS One encouraging

luncheon.

fact cheered us

:

aimless

wasp appeared she was slowly drawing nearer and nearer to the nest; and at last, alighting on the top as the

of a

weed

attitude,

and

close by, she

and gazed

crouched there in a most peculiar

intently at the opening.

tense, she looked

about to leap upon her prey but

after a time she relaxed

sently she

came

Absorbed

close to

;

and moved about a

Pre-

little.

the entrance and seemed on the

point of going in; but the ants were swarming

up and

down, and we thought that perhaps that step required

more courage than she possessed. At any rate, she did not enter, but hung about for some minutes and then flew away.

young wasp out on her first hunt ? What strange antiphonal desires must have stirred at the sight of the nest, and how mysterious was the power that drew

Was

her to

this a

it

!

Was

there in her brain any image of the queen

she must seek and sting and carry

her guards and subjects?

Or had

away from among

she perhaps already

achieved the adventure, and did the bitter nips that little ant

task than

it

was the

knew

not of

work

reluctantly

?

first

jaws can give time,

That she

weak and needed

seemed

when she risked the ills she

hesitated to

memory of the make it a harder

show

and carried on the that her flesh

the prick of conscience to drive

it

was on.

WASPS, SOCIAL Had we

here then the small beginnings of moral sense

and perception origin

AND SOLITARY

the

is

of duty ?

Can

it

be that of such humble

power that "doth preserve the

stars

from

wrong"?

We

went on with these meditations

for several days

while lingering, with gradually diminishing hopefulness,

over one ant-hill after another. in

winged queens by the

our way widely,

met a

failed to see the capture.

and poking her head, not only

into ant holes, but into

and as we sometimes saw young queens

all sorts,

(wingless however) starting to dig their nests,

was cold and windy, most unpropitious frigidus

we began

was working

for

to feel sure that she could not

Just as this point

nest,

we

he

felt

swarming,

depend upon

but must enter to

received a letter from

Mr. William M. Wheeler, well known ants, saying that

we thought

The weather

as briskly as ever; so that

meeting the queens outside the get them.

we

on the ground

these might be the object of the search.

and yet

come

Occasionally

frigidus hunting, running about

holes of

carrying

score, but they did not

them; and although we ranged about

to find

we

The wasps were

as

an authority on

very sure that the wasp could

not extract the queens from the nest, but must find them

running on the ground, just after the nuptial

flight,

before they dug their holes and started their colonies.

176

THE BURROWERS Respecting

this opinion,

we caught a wasp hill,

inverted

it

but

still

feeling unconvinced,

and carrying it to an antso that she was confined just over the in a glass,

up and down for a moment, she and walked alighted calmly into the hole but a fraction

entrance. After buzzing

;

of a second later she

came rushing madly out

again,

pursued by the most furious lot of ants that ever defended the

home

city against invasion.

Down

tumbled

our air castles about courage and duty, for however frigidus gets her queens,

it is

not in that way.

We

have

not yet seen the meeting and the capture, but hope that

sometime we may be lucky enough spot at the right time.

to

be on the right

Chapter VIII THE WOOD-BORERS

OUR

two species of Trypoxylon are both slender-

waisted black wasps, albopilosum having bunches

of

snowy white

hairs

three quarters of is

a

little

on the

an inch

first legs,

and measuring rubrocinctum

in length, while

smaller, and, as the

name

implies, wears a red

girdle.

Although these wasps are called wood-borers, they will use

went out 1895,

convenient cavities in any material. to

our

summer cottage,

we found many

little

in the last

wasps

When we

days of June,

of the species

Trypo-

xylon rubrocinctum busily working about a brick smoke-

house on the place. Closer examination showed that in the mortar between the bricks were

many

little

openings

leading back for a considerable distance, which were

occupied by the wasps.

It

would seem that these holes

were excavated by some other agency than the wasps themselves, as they were so

much

too deep for their pur-

poses that before using them they built a

178

mud

partition

THE WOOD-BORERS across the opening about an inch from the outside of the

Later we found nests of the same species in the

wall.

posts which support

and

here, too, the

an upper balcony of the cottage;

wasps made use of holes which were

already excavated.

In the following summer we found large numbers of these

wasps

been cut

at

work

off perfectly

The

in a straw-stack.

smooth on one

stack had

side, so that

many

thousands of the cut ends of the straws were exposed

and these proved very

to view,

tum. This species

we found

it

very cosmopolitan in

its tastes,

for

utilizing the small holes in the sticks of

The

a woodpile.

is

attractive to rubrocinc-

places, however,

straws

made

the daintiest nesting-

and were well adapted

since they could be

drawn out

to

our purposes,

of the stack

and

split

lengthwise so that the contents could be easily studied.

The two

halves could then be brought together again

without injuring the inhabitants, and thus

we

often

kept several sets under observation long enough to

watch the changes from the egg Trypoxylon in posts

and

to the

pupa.

albopilosum nesting in holes trees,

but never in straws.

We

found

made by beetles

A

third species,

bidentatum, was very common, nesting in the stems of plants.

During the month

of

August we saw many

individuals of this species hunting for spiders on the

179

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL blackberry bushes

;

but at this time

we were

so

much

absorbed in Crabro stirpicola that we never followed

them

to their

homes.

Rubrocinctum was more conveniently

studied,

and

through July and August we watched the comings

and goings

of these

little

They were

wasps.

very good-

tempered, never resenting our close proximity nor our interference with their housekeeping.

they could prepare a nest, store it

up

all in

the

it

By working hard

with spiders, and seal

same day. This we have seen them do in In other cases the same operation

several instances.

takes three or four days. In the second

summer

that

we

worked with them we found one very energetic mother that stored four nests in one day. It had rained hard on the twenty-sixth of July, and no wasp works weather.

On

took a straw just as the spider.

We

in such

the afternoon of the twenty- seventh

opened

it

little

mother was bringing

and found

we in a

that the innermost cell

contained eight Epeirids, with an egg on the abdomen of the last one taken in

;

the second cell

was provisioned

with ten spiders, with the egg on the seventh, so that

had been brought in after it was laid; the third had the egg on the last spider, as did also the fourth.

three cell

All of these eggs hatched

on the twenty-ninth,

outer ones, that were laid

last, 1

80

the

two

between eight and nine

THE WOOD-BORERS o'clock in the morning,

and the two

that were laid earlier

between two and three in the afternoon. biggest day's hunting that

we have

This was the

ever recorded for any

of our wasps.

With both sum), when

and T.

species (T. rubrocinctum

the preliminary

and erecting the inner

little

Here he stands on guard until the nest

is

up

his station inside the cell,

head

just filling the opening.

for the greater part of the time

provisioned and sealed up, occasionally

varying the monotony of his task by a short

a usual thing

who less

albopilo-

of clearing the nest

partition has been performed by

the female, the male takes

facing outward, his

work

the

all

work

is

flight.

As

performed by the female,

applies herself to her duties with greater or with

industry according to her individual character

;

but

the male doubtless discharges an important office in

protecting the nest from parasites.

him

seen

which

is

drive

On

nest.

on with great

distance into the

unmated males nests,

have frequently

the brilliant green Chrysis

fly,

always waiting about for a chance to enter an

unguarded ried

away

We

these occasions the defense

vigor, the fly being air.

is

car-

pursued for some

There are usually two or three

flying about in the neighborhood of the

poking their heads into unused

sionally trying to enter

one that 181

is

holes,

and occa-

occupied, but never,

WASPS, SOCIAL so far as

we have

AND SOLITARY

seen, with

any success, the male

charge being always quite ready and able

The

of his rights.

males, however,

when strange females

in

to take care

made no

objection

entered the nest, as they sometimes

did by mistake, nor did the females object to the entrance of a strange male

when

be away but

the one belonging to the

such cases the rightful happened owner, on his return, quickly ejected the intruder. We often amused ourselves, while we were watching the nest

to

nests,

;

by approaching the

in

little

doorway, with a blade of grass.

male, as he stood in his

He

always attacked

it

valiantly, and sometimes grasped it so tightly in his mandibles that he could be drawn out of the nest with it.

When male

the female returns to the nest with a spider the

flies

out to

make way for her, and then as she goes in

he alights on her back and enters with

comes out again she brings him with reenters, in,

and

then, after a

so that he faces

her.

When

she

her, but he at once

moment, comes out and backs

outward as before.

In one instance, with rubrocinctum, where the work of storing the nest

we saw

had been delayed by rainy weather,

the male assisting by taking the spiders from

the nest, leaving her free

them and packing them into to hunt for more. This was an

especially attentive

fellow, as

the female as she brought

little

182

he guarded the nest

THE WOOD-BORERS almost continuously for four days, the female sometimes being gone for hours at a time.

On the

last

revisited the nest three or four times after

day he even it

had been

sealed up. It is

work

the female that the heaviest part of the

upon

devolves.

As soon

as she has put the nest in order

she begins the arduous task of catching spiders where-

with to store

it.

It

usually takes her from ten to twenty

minutes to find a spider and bring

it

home, but she

When

sometimes absent for a much longer time.

is

the

spider has been carried to the nest the process of pack-

ing

in begins.

it

ently a

This occupies some time, and appar-

good deal of strength,

- -

the female pushing

into place with her head, totally disregarding its fort, all

jammed

the spiders that are caught being pressed

together into a compact mass.

it

com-

and

While she

is

way she makes a loud cheerful humming The number of spiders brought seems to depend

busied in this noise.

upon

their size, in

which quality they vary

greatly, the

largest ones being six or eight times as large as the smallest.

Rubrocinctum

fills

her nest with from seven to four-

teen, while the larger

albopilosum brings as

twenty-five or thirty.

Those

sented lies,

many

different genera,

that

we examined

and even

as

repre-

different fami-

although they were usually orb- weavers. 183

many

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

In a number of cases, during the several spiders

had been

we

drew them

gently

were

alive

which the wasp had

and two were dead. In anjust

begun

to seal up,

ten spiders. Three of these were injured in being

Of

out.

On

were

drawn

the remainder four were alive and three dead.

the anterior part of the

was the

spiders

after

found, two hours after they had been

stored, that three

other,

we

summer,

In one nest in which there were

out with a bent wire. five spiders,

stored,

first

egg.

It

dorsum

of one of the living

had probably been

the female carried the male into the nest

When we discovered

fertilized as

on her back.

rubrocinctum in the straw-stack,

we made many observations as to egg and the number and condition

the position of the of the spiders.

We

found that the egg was always placed either on the side

The

or the back of the anterior part of the abdomen.

number

of spiders stored was, as

from seven

to fourteen.

A

we have

already stated,

fact that interested us greatly

was the remarkable accuracy shown by the wasp

in

never selecting too large a spider for the calibre of the straw.

Oftentimes

it

was an extremely

could always be squeezed down. posts they used at times

nately

could

we never saw we

prevail

much

When

close

fit,

but

they nested in

larger prey.

Unfortu-

this species capture its prey,

upon

it

it

nor

to sting in captivity, but the

184

THE WOOD-BORERS number

we found

of spiders that

as to afford

was

so large

abundant evidence concerning the degree

of surgical skill possessed

and P.

in straws

scelestus,

overpowering their large

in

Lycosids, must sting

by the wasps. P. marginatus fierce

when and where they can, but

most of the spiders taken by rubrocinctum are inoffensive creatures,

and there

is

so

little

need

to

be careful

TRYPOXYLON RUBROCINCTUM

or adroit in dealing with them that she has time and

opportunity to sting the exact spot that will give the best results.

The concentration of

the nervous system in the Arach-

nida would seem to conduce very strongly to uniform results

from the stinging of the wasps. 185

Unlike the larva

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL used by Ammophila, with

its

chain of ganglia, in the

Araneidae the whole central nervous system, including the brain

and the ventral

cord, forms a single mass,

The greater part of this mass,

pierced by the oesophagus.

which

lies

behind the oesophagus, represents the fused

ventral cord from which the nerves radiate. It that a thrust given in almost

any part of the ventral face on either side of the an-

of the cephalothorax, or even terior half of

With

its

edges,

would reach the nervous

these facts before us

let

we mean

naturally the July ii.

first

centre.

us turn to the notes

upon the condition of the spiders and stored up in the nests of the "first cell"

evident

is

that

made

had been stung

straw-stack.

By

the last one stored, which

the

was

one opened.

Opened

a nest of rubrocinctum.

The

first cell

contained fourteen live spiders with a newly laid egg.

Some of

the spiders were very lively,

Second

cell,

egg.

Third

moving spontaneously.

ten spiders, one dead, others alive, and an cell,

eight spiders, three dead and five alive,

and the egg. July 12. In each of the

first

and second

cells

one spider

has died since yesterday, while in the third there is no change in their condition. The egg in the third cell hatched at nine in the

morning, and the one in the second

cell at

three in the afternoon.

July 13. In the

first cell all 1

the spiders are dead but one,

86

THE WOOD-BORERS and

in the

second,

but four, while in the third none are

all

alive.

July

July

15. 1

6.

All the spiders in the second cell are dead.

The one

spider in the

has outlived

first cell

all

the others, but that, too, died to-day.

The

record of another set of nests

July eighth in with

is

as follows:

On

we took a straw with a wasp as she went The cell was not sealed up. It

her spider.

contained fourteen specimens of three species of orb-

The

weavers, and the egg was apparently just laid. spiders were

abdomens were, were limp, but

in

cases, bent to

many

alive.

By

one

legs

and

side.

All

July tenth, four were dead

on July eleventh the egg hatched. all

and the

in very tightly,

pushed

By

;

July thirteenth

of the spiders were dead. It is

unnecessary to give the history of other nests in

detail, since these facts

make

it

clear that there

a great

is

variation in the degree of severity with which the spiders are stung, so that while with plete, with others

it

is

some the

only partial.

paralysis

is

Some were

outright, others lived two or three days, while

still

comkilled

others

Compared with the work of would seem that a smaller number of the

survived for two weeks. the Pelopaei

it

spiders are killed at once, while a larger after the lapse of a few days.

187

None

number

die

of the victims of

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL Trypoxylon

live so

long as the most perfectly paralyzed

spiders of the mud-daubers. fifteen

Two of them

lived ten

and

days respectively, while with Pelopaeus one sur-

vived until the thirty-eighth and one until the fortieth day.

The egg

requires from forty to sixty hours for

its

de-

velopment, and the larva feeds for seven or eight days Those that we watched before spinning its cocoon. usually disposed

cephalo thorax

;

first

of the

abdomen and then

of the

sometimes they would consume several

abdomens before attacking the other parts. After the body was devoured the legs were picked up and eaten.

When

was generous, portions

the supply of food

spiders were sometimes

left

untouched.

of the

The cocoons

resembled in general appearance and structure those of Pelopaeus.

When

a female returns with her load she usually

hunts about for a few moments before finding her nest,

sometimes entering,

first,

two or three that are empty

or are occupied by other wasps cast

any

ture that

reflection is

upon

;

but

we do

not wish to

the sense of locality of a crea-

able to find one particular straw out of the

an expanse of stack twenty feet high by twelve wide. We ourselves can testify, from

many thousands

in

experience, to the extreme difficulty of the task.

188

THE WOOD-BORERS After the storing process seals

is

up the nest with mud.

completed the female

In the case of one rubro-

cinctum that we were watching, she began

to close the

opening at four in the afternoon and finished her work minutes

just thirty

In

later.

journeys for mud, bringing

it

this

made

time she

ten

in pellets in her mandibles.

In another case, also a rubrocinctum, the female, after spiders that the cell

was

very door (which

we saw

case),

without closing

and never returned. The male seemed

bringing so

uneasy

at

many

it,

in

no other

to the

up

went away

her conduct, and several times flew away,

staying an hour or two

and then returning

time he too deserted the nest.

on her

;

but after a

Whether some

overtook the female or whether there of instinct

full

evil fate

was some

failure

part, can only be conjectured; but the

latter hypothesis is not untenable, since out of seventysix nests that

we had under observation seven were

cleaned out and prepared and were then sealed up

empty.

We

have often found similar cases among the

nests of the blue

very

uncommon

mud-dauber wasps, where thing for the

build their pretty

little

it

is

not a

absent-minded females to

cylindrical nests with infinite

care and patience, and then to seal

them up without put-

ting anything inside.

Cocoons of rubrocinctum that were gathered 189

in the

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL month in

of

May

August remained over the winter and hatched

and June.

Almost as interesting as rubrocinctum larger species, T. albopilosum.

is

the slightly

This wasp has a great

liking for the posts that support the balcony of our cottage, a preference that

enables us to

sit

is

very convenient for us, as

shade and watch their doings

in the

it

at

our ease.

One

afternoon as

we

sat, literally, at

our posts, a

fe-

male of albopilosum came humming along, looking very important and energetic, as though she had planned

beforehand exactly what hole,

head

kicking

first,

and

at

to do.

She entered an empty

once began to gnaw

at the

wood,

out backwards with considerable violence.

it

After a few minutes she changed her method of work,

and began bles,

to carry out loads of

dropping

it

in little

way, upwards of

awav, but returned *

*

dust in her mandi-

showers just outside the

and then hastening back. In out, in this

wood

in ten

nest,

forty minutes she carried fifty loads.

She then flew

minutes with a male.

She

alighted, he took his place on her back, and they went

in

together.

After a time they

next morning they

In

came out and both flew away, but

came back and

this species the

the nest

was

the

stored.

male does not always come out of 190

C L -"

.. -

,v-i,

.,

.

M

--

-

.

,),,',-"";'

.

/-''''/'

,

.,"

..

.

,

.-,,

-^.

^

;,(>-

:*-

MALE TRYPOXVLON AWAITING THE FEMALE

;.,

/;.

THE WOOD-BORERS the nest

when

the female brings a spider, the nest being

enough larger than

in

rubrocinctum

them both comfortably. As a usual enters

to

accommodate

thing, however, he

on the back of the female. The spiders brought

by albopilosum are larger than those used by rubrocinctum.

They sometimes bring such heavy specimens

Epeira insularis that they are carried with the

of

difficulty,

wasp alighting and dragging the spider

into the

hole instead of flying directly in as usual.

We

watched a number of albopilosum nests during

the second

summer, finding them

through the loud

humming

in several instances

of the female while she

From our

pushing the spiders into her hole.

not very

extensive study of the spiders taken by this species are of the opinion that

some are

killed at the

was

we

moment

of capture, while others that are only paralyzed die in

the nest from day to day.

Mr. W. H. Ashmead has noted stores

its

that albopilosum

nest with aphides, but in the cases that

we

observed they used only spiders. There can be no mistake on this point, as

we more than once took

from the wasp as she was entering the letter

Mr. Ashmead says

field,

and

nest.

that his notes were

that he probably mistook

species for this one.

193

some

the spider

In a recent

made

in the

closely allied

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

We tum

are not as familiar with the habits of T. bidenta-

as with those of the other two, but

This

notes relating to the female. smallest of the three,

we had

The wasp

her

like

little

seized the spider, as

rested

it

abdomen under and stabbed

cephalothorax.

up by a

leg

and

the

it

leaf,

by the

firmly, curved

the ventral face of the

know

filled

moment

We

flying off.

stems which had been but we do not

on a

and

All her motions were deliberate,

after the operation she delayed a it

is

confirmed

the good fortune to witness a capture.

top of the cephalothorax, and, holding

her

worker

sisters is a

Once, when out among the raspberry

spider-hunter.

bushes,

and

we have a few

before picking

often found raspberry

with spiders by this wasp,

the length of time required for the

development of the egg, nor how long the larva eats before pupation.

The cocoon

is

very different in appear-

ance from those of rubrocinctum and albopilosum, being exceedingly long, slender,

and almost white, instead

of short, wide, and brown.

The

perfect insects

out in September, and the last cocoon formed

one to hatch.

is

come

the

first

This was also true of the cocoons of

rubrocinctum formed in straws.

Years ago, when we found that

many

of the orb-

weavers laid enormous numbers of eggs (A. cophinaria

from 500

to 2000),

we wondered what became 194

of the

THE WOOD-BORERS An

thousands of spiderlings.

and has given us an illusthe two groups are related. To

xylon has shown us their tration of

how

closely

acquaintance with Trypo-

fate,

make a very modest estimate there must have been twenty wasps

at

work

in

our straw-stack. During the

which make the busiest part of

weeks

working season

their

each of these must have stored, at the very cells,

six

putting an average of ten spiders into a

least, thirty It

cell.

may

then be considered certain that the straw-stack, with

working surface of twelve by twenty

leum

of six

twice as

thousand spiders, and

many were

be remembered, large

enough

to

feet,

it is

interred within

its

was the mauso-

very probable that

its

depths.

too, that before the spiders

It

must

have grown

be interesting to rubrocinctum, biden-

tatum has had her turn

at

them, and that those that are

allowed to grow too large for rubrocinctum are preyed

upon grade

after grade, first

by albopilosum and

finally

by Pelopaeus, Pompilus, and other genera.

The wasps affairs

this

of this genus lose their interest in family

about the second week in August, though after

time they

may

still

be seen taking their well-earned

holiday on the blossoms of the aster and the golden-rod.

Chapter

IX

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS Ammophila

WHILE

larva,

and Bembex,

social wasps, feeds her flies,

all

provides caterpillars for her

manner

after the

young from day

to

prey upon spiders.

family

the

day on dead

the Pompilidae, so far as their habits are

The

of

known,

a large one in the

is

United States, one hundred and twenty-seven species having been described. in size, color,

species

show

which seems

and

The members

habits,

and the individuals

the very considerable

common

of the group differ

amount

to all those

of the

same

of variation

groups of animals

which have been carefully studied.

Happily the old

notion that habits and instincts, unlike structural peculiarities,

are

upon, and there

always uniform, is

ample evidence

functional variations are as

We

have studied

no longer

is

for the opinion that

common

to

as morphological.

five species of this family,

found their respective roles of great According

insisted

and have

interest.

Fabre, the French members of this 196

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS genus, although they do not exercise

some

make

their

own

foresight in the matter

by

suitable crevice before catching their prey.

species that

we have

nests,

still

selecting a

Among

the

studied, quinquenotatus, biguttatus,

TORNADO WASP (POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS) DIGGING NEST

fuscipennis, marginatus,

spider and then

make

and interruptus

the nest;

first

catch the

while calipterus and

scelestus prepare the nest before capturing their prey.

Quinquenotatus

is

inch in length and variable

number

usually rather less than half an is

black, the

of white

abdomen having a

bands and a white 197

tip.

WASPS, SOLITARY It

was on the

last

through the bean

day of July that, as we were walking

field,

came spurting up out

By watching

tain.

AND SOCIAL

we saw a cloud

of the

intently

of fine dust

which

water in a foun-

ground

like

we saw

that the cause of the

commotion was the rapid action of the legs of some little creature that was almost hidden in the earth, and this

proved

to

be our

first

example of P. quinqueno-

tatus.

She was working away as furiously as though she had studied the poets and

knew her

carpe diem by heart.

Faster and faster went the slender

and higher rose the

obstacle.

legs; higher

Then

sud-

The burrower had met

with

jet of dust above her.

denly there was a pause.

some

little

A moment

more and she came backing

out of the hole, her feet slipping on

its

crumbling edges.

In her mandibles she carried a pebble, which was taken to a distance of four or five inches.

quickly, she swept

away

the dust that

Then, moving

had accumulated

near the mouth of the nest, reentered the hole, and

sumed

We

re-

the labor of excavation.

thought that the rate at which she worked was

up very long; and sure enough, before ten minutes had passed the nest was deep enough too violent to be kept

for her purposes, grin, that

it

was

and we afterward learned,

too deep for ours.

to

our cha-

The wasp came

out,

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS round the spot three or four times, and then flew

circled

fiery, title

Never have we seen a creature so

a hurricane.

off like

tempestuous, cyclonic. Before

we took

we knew her proper

to calling her

the tornado wasp, and by that

name we

shall

always

think of her.

Her

flight

was too rapid minute

to follow, but in a

we saw her

She

returning.

was carrying a good sized -

a

spider,

of

specimen ,

.

POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS

,

Epeira stnx, which she had evidently deposited

somewhere

in

the

neighborhood

Alighting near by, she

before beginning to dig.

left

the

spider lying on the ground, while she ran to her nest and

kicked out a leg,

nest.

little

she dragged

more

it,

earth.

Then

seizing

it

by one

going backward herself, into the

She remained hidden for about two minutes,

then reappeared, and, seeming to be in as great a

hurry as ever, the spot

and render

of the field

rushed,

filled

it

them above the

nest,

disguise

indistinguishable from the

was her next

now bringing

To

the hole with dirt.

care.

little

Hither and thither she

pellets of earth

now sweeping away 199

rest

and placing

the loose dust

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

which might suggest the presence of the cache, and

now

tugging frantically at a stone which she wanted to

place over the hidden treasure, but which

embedded

was too deeply She did

in the earth to yield to her efforts.

her work faithfully, although with such eager haste that all

was completed

the time that

it

end of twenty minutes from

we saw her first. So

was only by

certain of

Her

at the

its

well

was the place hidden

careful orientation that

we could be

exact locality.

task accomplished,

away

flew our

little

tornado

as though she were pursued by the avenging spirits of all

the spiders that she

probably she was

and

off in

had murdered, although more quest of another of those

meek

helpless victims.

"Now," we said, "we make a drawing of it. We note

its

will trace out the nest will take the spider

home and

condition from day to day, watching at

same time the development Enjoying

and

the

of the larva."

this little air-castle,

we began

to excavate.

Having had experience with the nests of Ammophila and Diodontus, and knowing that the task might not be so easy as care.

It

it

looked,

we went

to

work with all

possible

seemed, however, that some magician's trick

some deception of the senses - had been played upon us. We saw the spider interred we at once dug -

;

200

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS Slowly and carefully

up the place and found nothing.

we enlarged our the opening -

all

still

was

large

the earth that

our hands

-

went down deeper

tried another plan.

At

out,

last

until

thousand spiders,

to hold a

we had taken

in vain.

we

sifted

Gathering it

through

we acknowledged

our-

and trudged home empty-handed.

selves beaten,

Our

enough

Then we

nothing.

-

We

circle.

pride was destined to be

still

further humbled.

Three times within that same week we saw the tornado

wasp bury her

spider,

incredibly, to find

did not

let

tunnel and laid,

her

On

it.

fill

and three times we

failed, just as

the last of these occasions

we

the nest, attempting to follow the

get out the spider as soon as the egg

but the loose, unstable character of the

was

soil de-

feated us.

Our

fifth

example, however, dug her nest, not

the beans but lower

down

ground was firmer

and here we made our

ful excavation,

-

-

;

in the potato field,

successful only

since in getting out the spider

and although

The

it

was

at

up

we

once replaced

among

where the

first

success-

to a certain point,

dislodged the egg, it

never developed.

was placed three inches below the surface, but we could not trace the tunnel. At our next opporspider

tunity,

wishing to

make good

this failure,

we placed

a

blade of grass in the opening just after the wasp began 201

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL to

fill

On

it.

being disturbed she assumed the most

comically threatening aspect, whirling around, lifting her

wings, and then circling about us.

As soon

as

we moved

back she dashed

at the grass-blade

with great energy.

A few minutes later we made a similar

and pulled

attempt, and again she frustrated our plan

but

;

it

out

when we

inserted the grass-blade for the third time, the nest being

now

half

filled,

she

let

with this to guide us,

but

much

to

remain.

it

we succeeded

Some hours

our disappointment found

into a banqueting hall.

They had

and were rapidly finishing the spider. Twice afterward, in opening these

same ants

Pompilus

;

transformed

enemy

eaten the egg

we found

nests,

in possession before us.

that they are a formidable

species of

it

Scores of tiny red ants had dis-

covered this rich store of food.

the

later,

in tracing the nest,

It is

to this

probable

and other

but they seem to find the spider

by burrowing beneath the surface, so that the elaborate hiding of the nest from above cannot be meant as a pro-

from them.

tection

Pompilus quinquenotatus has a decided preference as to the spider that she takes.

While Pelopaeus and Try-

poxylon are entirely indifferent both as species,

natus

and the more nearly

takes

Thomisus,

related

Drassus,

202

to

size

and

Pompilus margi-

Attus,

Agalena or

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS Lycosa, this more fastidious wasp will not be tempted

from the spider of her choice. amples the victim strix.

made so

If she

in the play

must confine

In more than

was invariably Epeira

herself to

one species she has

a fortunate selection, since there

common

fifty ex-

is

no other spider

in our neighborhood, not only in the

woods,

EXAMPLE OF EPEIRA STRIX THAT HAS BEEN PARALYZED AND HUNG UP ON BEAN PLANT BY POMPILUS QUINQUENOTATUS, THAT IT MAY BE OUT OF THE WAY OF ANTS WHILE SHE DIGS HER NEST

but around the barns and outbuildings. Most frequently it

was the female that was taken, but

this

does not im-

ply a preference for that sex, since the females are

203

more

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

We

abundant than the males.

have never seen the

spider captured and do not know where the

sting

is

given, but certainly this wasp wounds her prey very

The

severely.

spiders that

we took from her were

dead, or so completely paralyzed that

it

either

required great

care and the use of a magnifying glass to determine that they were alive.

The

we have

with, as

Unlike her

with

and seems not

marginatus, she usually

at all

encumbered by it,

its

holding

it

flies

weight.

by one

and running rapidly backward.

A

suitable place for the nest being found, the spider

very prettily taken care of while the work

A plant,

gress.

the strix it

sister,

cases, however, she drags

many

leg

is

it,

are familiar

frequently seen the wasp carry the

spider.

In

we

next stage of her proceedings

will

is

usually a bean or a sorrel,

is

is

in pro-

chosen, and

hung in the crotch of a branching stem, where

be safe from the depredations of ants. This pre-

caution

is

the spider

not always taken. left

We

have many times seen

on the ground, although there were plenty

of plants at hand.

The

next point

for the nest,

certain settle

is

to decide

upon the

and here our wasp shows

and hard

to please.

herself very un-

Never have we seen one

down and complete her work 204

precise spot

in the spot first

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS chosen.

She dashes

away with

at

a place and scratches and digs

furious energy for a few minutes,

starting up, she darts wildly hither

new

place, near by,

to is

and

thither until a

upon and another beginning

In one instance eight nests were started and

made.

some

is

fixed

and then,

of

them nearly

finished, the little

worker seeming

be beside herself with excitement. After the decision finally

case

it

made

the tunneling

is

a rapid process. In one

took the wasp a whole hour to complete the work,

but out of the thirty nests that

were finished

in

from twenty

we saw made,

nineteen

to twenty-five minutes.

Like Fabre's Sphex the wasp interrupts herself three or four times to visit her spider and safe.

When

all

is

make

done she brings the

sure that

strix to

it is

within

a foot or two of the opening, runs to the nest to take a final look,

and then, going backward

herself, pulls

it

inside.

In two instances we saw the fidgety

little

creature

go through a most comical performance, which again recalls the

Sphex of Fabre.

Leaving her treasure on

the ground, she ran to the nest

and kicked out a

more earth; hastening back she dragged nearer

;

digging,

it

little

an inch

then away she went to the nest again for more

and

so on, dropping her spider half a dozen

times before she at

last

brought 205

it

home. In two other

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

was no such anxiety about the there was, in reality, more reason for it.

cases in which there size of the nest,

Indeed, in one instance the opening had to be enlarged before the spider could be taken

winged parasitic

fly that,

prodigious numbers

to

is

any particular

it

an opening, dips down twice or

each time,

may

in,

nest,

chance to see

comes

it

thrice, ovipositing

and then passes along. The habit

of scratch-

at the threshold, just before the prey

little dirt

brought

a wide-

is

else to do, lays

hovers about over the ground until

It

ing out a

There

having nothing

of eggs, not in

but at the edge of holes wherever

them.

in.

seemingly from a desire to enlarge the

nest, or in other cases

from mere nervousness,

is

per-

haps of use in destroying these eggs, which might otherwise adhere to the spider or caterpillar as

it is

dragged

over them.

The

laying of the egg takes only two or three minutes,

and then the hole

is filled

up.

In

this part of

her work

quinquenotatus shows a great deal of variation, sometimes coming out of the hole and sweeping in the dirt

with her

first legs

and sometimes standing

in the tunnel

while she draws the earth in with her mandibles and

with the end of her abdomen.

The

former plan was in vogue in the garden, while the

latter

was more common with the wasps on the

After

then jams

it

down

206

island.

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS the hole

the spot

is filled

is

covered with pellets of earth

and pebbles brought from a as is done by Ammophila.

When we found mon species, and of

its

that nearly every

that

stinging habits in our

be easier than to carry a

strix

was a very com-

day brought us a

we had

own

much

distance, very

that quinquenotatus

we thought

fresh example,

little

the question

What

hands.

could

about with us and to ex-

when opportunity offered, for the paralyzed wasp? The good results obtained by Fabre and Marchal from this manoeuvre made us conchange

it,

spider of the

We did not doubt that when the wasp

fident of success.

came

for her spider

to be, she

and found

it

livelier

than

it

ought

would repeat the stinging operation before

our eyes. Accordingly, the next time that tus digging

we made

and soon found as

we

it

discovered

and carried

it

she

up

hung

it

to

a diligent search for her spider,

on a bean plant it,

we saw quinquenotafive feet

away.

Just

however, the wasp swooped

down

some

purslain, close to the hole,

again, while she went to

preparations at the nest.

We

where

make her

seized our chance,

final

and

quickly substituted a fresh strix for the one that had

been paralyzed.

when danger

According

threatens,

it

to the habit of its species

kept perfectly quiet, and 207

when

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL the

wasp returned

was hanging there

it

How she knew

as a piece of dead matter.

as motionless

the difference

was a mystery, but she would not touch it. She seemed to think that she had made a mistake in the locality and that her own spider must be hanging somewhere hunted

close by, for she

all

over several others near to

over that plant and then

it,

returning continually to

look again in the right spot. After five minutes she gave it

up, circled about three or four times, and flew off in

the direction of the

woods

to catch another spider.

did she go to the woods?

Why

that the strix she

When

had stung was gone and

she realized

must

that she

have another, why did she not take the one that hung

Our

there in plain view?

due

to the fact that

when on

we had handled

other occasions

paralyzed, examined

she accepted

it

failure could not

it

have been

the spider, since,

we took one

that

and then returned

it

had been

to the

wasp,

without hesitation.

Disappointed though we were at the irrational conduct of our wasp, to try again.

we

resolved to await her return and

In forty minutes she came back with an-

other spider, but instead of taking

hung

into the nest she

upon a bean plant near by and then proceeded

it

to dig

it

a

Foolish

new little

hole a few inches distant from the

wasp, what a waste of labor 208

!

first.

Truly,

if

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS you are endowed with energy beyond your fellows you are but meagrely furnished with reason.

Again we availed ourselves of our opportunity, and substituted our spider for hers. This time it had grown weary of playing

its

motionless

role,

and frequent read-

justments were necessary in order to keep

At the moment that the wasp came back

it

in position.

to take

it,

the

place and began to make its way along the stem. The wasp evidently saw it, for she hovered over it a moment. She then flew to the next spider scrambled from

plant,

its

where she hunted about over the leaves and lost treasure.

After a time

had now come

to a standstill,

branches in search of her

The

she returned.

spider

and the wasp examined touching

attentively, although without

it

She then flew away without

it.

circling at

all,

which might, perhaps, be taken as an indication that she had no intention of returning to a place where she

had fared

so badly.

Just at this

moment we chanced

lyzed strix hanging near by.

to see another para-

Again the exchange of

our specimen was accomplished; but when the second

wasp came

to find her spider she

faction than the

enough.

We

first.

The

gave us no more

substitute

hung

satis-

there quietly

ourselves could not have distinguished

it

from the original, but quinquenotatus took a good look 209

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL at

a

decided that something was wrong, hunted about

it,

for her

little

We

had

own

spider,

and then flew away.

then, as the fruit of our morning's work,

gained nothing in regard to a knowledge of the stinging

we had secured

habits of our wasp, but at least freshly paralyzed spiders to

As

lection.

in

add

to

had

to the strix that

our experiments, we placed

our laboratory

col-

so kindly assisted us

on a bush

it

three

in the plea-

santest and most secluded corner of the garden and it

there, wishing

it

a long and happy

left

life.

Later on in the season we tried the same experiment.

Taking her spider from quinquenotatus as she was it

dragging in

its

place.

away. to

to her nest,

we

offered her a very lively strix

She would not notice

Half an hour

we

on the ground

was

left

up

its

w hen r

and seemed

legs

she

This one behaved ad-

and keeping

felt

it

of

it

perfectly

and turned

it

still,

over,

without any display of interest or emotion.

One day we saw go after her spider.

when an

and soon flew

As she ran about on

dig.

in front of her.

not moving even it

all,

offered her another spider, dropping

mirably, drawing

but

at

later she reappeared,

be looking for a place to

the ground

it

a quinquenotatus finish her nest and

She was absent

for

some

time,

and

ant passed by, dragging a paralyzed strix that

had evidently been

stolen

from some wasp, we thought 210

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS we were watching had been robbed, and

that the one

rescuing the spider, placed

We

nest.

had judged wrongly,

spider,

way

one side of the

blocked, and dug out a

strix.

the ground not far

Then

later

our

and dropping

She was disturbed

near by, ran to look at her nest.

at finding the

to

moment

for a

wasp came back bringing her own it

doorway of the

in the

it

little

earth

she flew to some holes in

away and dug a

little, first

in

one and

then in the other. After this she took a look at her spider,

and then went back and dug a

dragged it,

more

at her

own

Finally she seized the impeding strix by a leg,

nest.

to

little

it

way and paid no further attention her own spider and departing, although

out of the

storing

the one she

had

rejected might have saved a hunting

expedition.

At another time we saw two wasps digging two or three other,

feet apart.

and being unable

One

of

them

to find her

their nests

finished before the

own

spider (probably

had been carried away by the ants), she seized that of her neighbor and bore it away. The rightful owner

it

saw from a distance what was happening, and ran the rescue. clinching

A

and

violent

again.

and over

rolling over

ber escaped and

to

scrimmage ensued, the two wasps

made

off,

together.

The

rob-

but was followed and caught

She fought so well for her 211

ill-gotten treasure,

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

however, that she finally conquered the other and hurried off with her prize.

she

felt

She showed by her manner that

the need of haste, for instead of laying the spider

down and

looking at the nest, she dragged

it

directly in,

as though she feared another attack. This was the

we had

time that

first

ever seen these wasps fighting over

and we were surprised to find that they would take spiders which they had not captured themselves,

their prey,

since

when we had

tried to

refused to carry out intelligent act,

exchange with them they had

our scheme.

and could not be an

Once again we witnessed a these

affair of instinct.

similar struggle.

wasps was laboriously dragging her

steep hillside, cies

This was clearly an

when a much

bigger one of

it

up a the same spe-

up, and they both pulled until

as though the poor creature

The highway robber came

of

strix

She was

descended upon her and seized the spider.

loath to give

One

it

seemed

would be dismembered.

and

after flying

to a distance

finished a

partly

hung the spider up while she made nest, and then stored it away.

It

off victorious,

may be

said in extenuation of her conduct that since she

had a

had probably been robbed herself, and that she was entitled to a spider.

nest started she

therefore

The

felt

nests of quinquenotatus vary considerably ac-

cording to the kind of

soil in

212

which they are made, the

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS 9

firm clay of the garden giving a result quite different

from the usually

fine

much

dry earth of the island, in which they are larger,

and

scarcely to be distinguished

from the holes of Bembex

NEST OF

P.

In both

spinolae.

localities,

QUINQUENOTATUS

however, the nest consisted of a short tunnel, running obliquely

downward, with a

slight

enlargement at the

end, but with no change in the direction of the gallery.

In the loose sand of a steep

wasps had a place

filled

different

hillside

method.

up nearly as

we found

Their tunnels in

fast as they

and when they had reached a depth 213

that the this

could dig them,

of half

an inch they

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL turned

new

off at

They probably derived some advantage variation, for we saw four in succession follow

direction.

from

this

same

the

a right angle, and excavated in an entirely

plan,

which certainly appeared

telligent adaptation of

We

means

once saw a wasp of

on the Bembex

field.

be an

to

this species digging

When

in-

to ends.

finished

it

was a

her nest

large hole

which could not have been distinguished from those of spinolae,

which were open

being bright and sunny.

all

She flew

about, the weather off,

and soon reap-

peared with her spider, which was dropped three

feet

away while she ran to make sure that all was right; and now followed something that we had never seen before

-

-

she could not find her nest. She flew, she ran,

she scurried here and there, but she had utterly of

it.

She approached

it

no landmarks on the Bembex

wondered how they

lost

track

several times, but there are

find their

We

have often

places.

After five

field.

own

minutes our wasp flew back to look at her spider, and then returned to her search. the

Bembex

holes, but

She now began

to

run into

soon came out again, even when

not chased out by the proprietor.

Suddenly

it

seemed

was going to be a prolonged affair, and that her treasure was exposed to danger and hurry-

to strike her that this

;

ing back she dragged

it

into the grass at the edge of the

214

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS field,

where

was hidden. Again she resumed the hunt,

it

flying wildly

now

over the

all

running into wrong

field,

and even kicking out earth as though she thought

holes

Once

of appropriating them, but soon passing on.

more she became anxious about the ing

up on

it

to a plant

seemed determined that she

went

to

it

suspended

and

carry-

Now

there.

she

take possession of every hole

digging quite persistently in each,

into,

but then giving

spider,

it

up.

On

one that seemed to be un-

occupied she labored at enlarging the entrance, until

thought that she had mistaken

had determined

least

made up her mind and that she must

to use

it

for her

At

it.

;

and

at

however, she

last,

that all further search start afresh

own, or

we

was hopeless

forty minutes

from

we saw her first she began a new nest close spider, as though she would run no more risks.

the time that to the

This nest was successfully completed, and the spider

was stored away without further misadventure.

The egg of quinquenotatus can be but to the spider, for only once, out of

succeed in getting

it

it

hatched.

laid,

was opened on the tenth day

and

in this the spider

215

had been

it.

The

day or two, but then pined away and

other nest

was

many attempts,

out without displacing

case three days elapsed before for a

lightly attached

did

we

In this larva ate

died.

after the

Anegg

entirely eaten

WASPS, SOCIAL and the larva was

AND SOLITARY cocoon; so that the

its

just spinning

larval stage probably occupies about a week.

A summary

of our notes

shows a very wide variation

in the condition of the spiders stored

by

this

wasp. Out

of eleven that were stung three were killed at once, two lived four days,

one

five,

one eleven, one twenty-three,

one twenty-five, one thirty-one, and one

at least forty

days and probably longer.

We look back with much pleasure upon our acquaintance with

this gay, excitable little

of breezy energy that her,

and she showed

character that

it

wasp. She was so

was always

delightful to

full

meet

so wide a variation in individual

we seldom watched her without

learning

something new.

Pompilus fuscipennis, a little smaller than P. quinquenotatus,

is

frequently that

we

black, with the red girdle that appears so

among

ever saw this

brilliant red of her

flashing in the sunlight as she dragged along a

spider of the genus Thomisus.

up on

to a leaf

and began

little

Presently she carried

to bite at

turbed by an ant, hurried on with a ner.

time

first

wasp she was running rapidly

backward over the bare ground, the body

The

the solitary wasps.

it,

much

but being agitated

Soon she stopped again and resumed her

it

dis-

man-

attack,

biting savagely at the legs near their junction with the

216

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS body, and now, looking closely,

had been completely cut the

wasp was evidently

we saw

that two of

While occupied in

off.

them

this

way

She lay on

intensely excited.

one side with the abdomen bent under, turning the spider over and over as she worked. carried

onward

it

afforded

some

to the potato-field,

shelter,

and placing

above the ground, began

it

After a time she

where the plants

upon a

leaf,

well

She worked

to dig near by.

almost entirely with her mandibles, lying sometimes on her side and sometimes on her back as she cut away the earth, which

abdomen. had gone spider

When

in the length of her body, she picked

and rapidly made

on her wings and little

was pushed out with the end of her she had worked for ten minutes and

flying

off

with

backward

for a

it

on a

leaf

A

and

At the end of twenty min-

was ready, but

in bringing the spider she

missed her direction and carried it

few inches.

to dig in a fresh place.

utes the nest

on the ground, she began

hole, but

it

to

to

one

side.

Drop-

hunt about for her

was distracted with excitement and ran so

far afield that last,

several times rising

further along she again deposited

began

ping

it,

up the

we

feared she would never find

it.

At

however, she came to the place, ran in for a mo-

ment, brought the spider nearer, dropped to the nest once more, caught

217

it

it

up again, and

and ran tried to

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL back

in with

it.

She was holding

it

by the under

of the body, the venter being toward the hole, legs

spread out and stopped

A

entrance.

its

side

and the

moment's

tugging convinced her that this would not do, and she

then turned the spider over, holding

by the back,

it

the legs at once folded themselves across

whereupon

the underside of the thorax,

and

it

was drawn out

of

sight.

wasp came up to the edge some earth with her mandi-

After the egg was laid the of the hole,

and drawing

bles

to

began

in

dance up and down upon

into place with her

jamming it Afterwards she came

abdomen.

up higher and drew the

dirt in

getting out of the hole until

it

it,

with her

was

first

legs,

not

entirely filled up.

Then began a remarkable performance. Bracing herself firmly on her legs she used the end of her abdomen as

now pounded

the earth,

a pestle in a mortar, and

now used

an instrument, and with

now it

rubbed

it,

like

as a brush to sweep

would throw a

little

mandibles and rub part of the in

it

she

away

loose dust.

Sometimes she

earth back under her body with her it

work being

down with

her abdomen.

finished, she spent a

sweeping the ground with her

first

This

few minutes

legs,

and then

brought a quantity of small objects and placed them over the nest,

-

-

a

little stick,

218

the petal of a faded flower,

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS a scrap of dead

had been

leaf,

and

collected.

duties recalled

so on, until ten or twelve things

This

artistic finishing

of her

up

our subsequent

but

Ammophila among we never saw one do her work ;

examples of fuscipennis

They were

with such nicety. in the nest

much

more or

of the

usually contented to

fill

compactly, sometimes doing

less

work from the

outside, to brush off the

surface without any rubbing or pounding, and then to

bring two or three

pebbles or lumps of earth

little

to place over the spot.

So far as we were concerned fearless of the wasps, not

when we once placed

this

was one

of the

most

even interrupting her work

a glass over her as she

was

filling

her nest; but the approach of an ant would throw her into a perfect panic,

make

off

stand

why wasps

and

seizing her spider she

with every sign of terror.

It is difficult to

would under-

of this species, as well as of biguttatus,

never offer combat to the ants that rob them right and left,

but invariably seek safety in

toward other robbers fuscipennis that

is

Their attitude

retreat.

quite different.

We

once saw a

was dragging a Lycosid attacked by a

bigger wasp of the

same

species.

Number One

Two

left

spider on the ground

and chased Number

tance; but no sooner

had she returned and taken

than

Number Two,

her

to a disit

up

bold and unashamed, was at her 219

WASPS, SOCIAL heels again, of the robber

AND SOLITARY

and the scene was repeated. The object was to seize a leg of the spider, and whenand

ever she succeeded in doing this she jerked

it

made

owner pur-

off

with

it

very rapidly

when

but

;

the

free,

sued and caught up with her she relinquished the prize without a struggle.

and the

stronger,

Why

did she?

and possession

law in Waspland as elsewhere

coward of

her, while the other

eous cause.

but

now the

upset,

;

After a time

is

She was the bigger nine points of the

made a

but conscience

was strong

we captured

the

in her rightlittle

pirate;

nerves of the rightful owner were completely

and she flew away, deserting the spider

for

which

she had battled so bravely.

The most

interesting thing about fuscipennis

habit of biting the legs of her victims.

The

is

her

instinct

is

very irregularly developed, since four out of ten spiders

had not

lost

any

of one or two.

legs,

No

while the others had been deprived

one who has watched the wasp can

doubt that the habit

is

related to the fact that she

makes

a very small nest in comparison to the size of her prey.

The

spider never went in easily, always requiring to be

shifted

and turned and tugged

at.

There was an

especial

tendency to bite at the legs at this point of time, the wasp, standing within the tunnel,

the spider down.

was trying

when

to drag

In one instance she managed to get

220

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS it

past the entrance, but at

working

it

it

stuck in the gallery

;

It

was

still

about and pulling at

may

after

in that position for a time she brought

out, subjected the legs to a severe squeezing, tried again.

and

it

a very bad

fit,

and then

but by turning

she succeeded in getting

be that the object of biting the legs

is

it

it in.

it

It

not to remove

them, but to render them limber so that they will bend easily.

Whatever the process may

intervals

from the time the spider

be,

is

it is

repeated at

captured.

As she

wasp pauses again and again, now on bare ground and now in a sheltered place or on some carries

it,

plant, to

the

renew her

efforts at getting the legs into a satis-

factory state. P. fuscipennis rarely circles about

place

;

seems

this is unfortunate, since

to

when

leaving a

her sense of locality

be particularly weak. She nearly always has to

hunt for the plant upon which she has placed her spider,

and always

loses track of her nest

bring the spider to

We

it.

when

she tries to

once caught her as she was

carrying her spider, and then released her on the spot; but she

became

so

much

confused that without

our assistance she would never have found

Our acquaintance in the

half

middle

an inch

it

again.

with Pompilus marginatus began

of July.

long,

same

and

is

She

is

a small creature, only

dressed in black, with a bright 221

SOCIAL AND SOLITARY

WASPS,

orange spot on each side of the anterior part of the ab-

We were watching the pretty little

domen. they

filled their

Diodonti, as

when we saw her

holes with aphides,

going backward, dragging along a medium-sized spider.

Soon she came

an onion flower that was lying on the

to

Here she stopped and,

ground.

drew her prey

tation,

cluster so that

before she

it

in

after a

was hidden from view. to fly

was not long

It

about near the

poke her head

to

ground, frequently alighting

cracks and to run again and again into holes.

Never did an

insect

madness

it

was

little

into

chance

behave in a more demented

manner, and although there in her

hesi-

the blossoms of the

among

came out and began

moment's

may have been

difficult to

discover

a

it.

method

No

hole

nor cranny pleased her, and back she flew to the onion to see

whether her booty were

she ran and flew in every

safe.

now here, now

For

there,

fifteen

hurry and anxiety

movement, returning frequently

herself about the spider.

;

and

to

reassure

Several times she entered a

hole at the base of a weed, not a dental crevice

minutes

this spot

made

was

nest, but

at length

an

acci-

chosen either

as a temporary or a final resting place for her spider, since she dragged here.

We

in this,

it

from the onion and deposited

tried to capture the

we dug

wasp; but having

out the spider.

222

It

it

failed

was three inches

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS down, the hole being deeper than outside.

There was no egg upon

had not been

it

looked from the

Evidently the work

it.

finished, for the restless creature returned

an hour

fifteen times within

to the

broken

nest, either

purpose of laying her

for the

egg or to remove the spider to another

on her

resting-place

homeward way. This was our

first

specimen

of marginatus, and a month passed before we met another. It

was while watching some

Bembecidae pretty

we saw

that

orange-spotted worker dragging a small

little

Thomisid across

their nesting-ground.

so small that she held

the ground,

POMPILUS MARGINATUS

the

in her

it

and we speak

The

spider

was

mandibles well above

of her as dragging

it

only

because she walked backward and acted as though she

were obliged

to exert herself.

Quite often the spiders

taken by this species are too large to be carried, and then

it

is

necessary to drag them; this habit

grained that to

when

it

is

so in-

would be much more convenient

go straight ahead they stick to the ancient custom,

and seem unable

wasp was

in

to

move

in

any other way. This

little

a frantic hurry, running backward into the 223

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL Bembex

and then scrambling out again, until she had crossed the field and had turned to one side, having holes

we

gone, since

saw

first

about

her,

Here

fifteen feet.

she dropped the spider and began to skim over the

ground

-

-

not flying

it

could not be called running and yet she found a circular

until

black earth, which looked as

if it

it

was

hole in the

ran vertically down-

ward. At the time we thought that this was a nest that she had that

that it,

made

had been excavated by some other creature, she had found it and determined to make use of it

and that she was bringing her prey

that

end

and ran

to the spot with

Without entering she rushed back

in view.

the spider, but after carrying it

we afterward concluded

for herself, but

it

to

a few inches, dropped

to take another look at the nest.

time, however, she

was too much excited

to

By this know what

she was about, and for five minutes she scurried over the ground without finding

picked up

the spider four times, carried

and then dropped

it.

The

attempt at concealment.

this it

a

time she little

time she carried

last

edge of the grass and stowed

it

it

way,

to the

there, this being her first

She now found the hole again

and brought the spider nearly

was

During

it.

perfectly beside herself.

to

it,

but by this time she

The

spider

was

seized

again and again, only to be dropped the next second,

224

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS while the wasp rushed back and forth between

In time

the hole. it

this

close to the nest, but

method was

it

At

once or twice even then. seemed,

it

and pulled

carried around the edge

accidentally as

last,

it

the

and when she came out we caught her

side,

As we

sure of her identity.

we expected her in this we were

We

of procedure brought

wasp quickly ran in also down. For half an hour she remained in-

fell in, it

when

and

it

to

set

to

make

her free immediately

go to work at covering her

but

nest,

disappointed, for she did not return.

the place undisturbed from the thirteenth to

left

when we dug up the nest. The but we could find neither egg nor

the fifteenth of August,

Thomisid was

The

larva.

spider

ing of the legs. until

upon

and on the

there,

was

alive, as

was shown by a quiver-

This quivering grew fainter and

the nineteenth

was

it

twenty-first the spider

scarcely perceptible,

Our

was dead.

had been stung to death at once, while seven days and a half after being stored.

spider lived

On saw a tion

September

first,

citedly just

in another.

instant,

this

one

first

in

we

one direc-

Hovering eagerly and

ex-

above was our marginatus, dashing down

at the spider again

an

first

while out in the bean patch,

large Lycosid running madly,

and then

fainter,

and again as

and then

it

came

circling wildly

225

into view for

around

until

it

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

Now

appeared once more.

she

pounced upon the

frightened spider but missed her aim, it

grasped

but was shaken

The wasp descended upon was a

At

off.

the

and over upon the ground, while

spider,

combatants all

she really

end came.

last the

doomed

violent struggle, both the

now

and there

rolling over

we could

that

distin-

guish was the flashing of the red upon the body of the

wasp.

In an instant

it

was

over,

and the wasp

leaving the spider limp and motionless

upon

its

rose,

back.

In our other examples of marginatus the spider taken

had been it

so small that the

and thrust her

wasp might

sting into

easily

have held

any spot that she pleased,

but this Lycosid was a different antagonist.

Where

the

two were so nearly matched, there could have been but slight opportunity for

skillful surgery.

In point of

wasp was at a disadvantage, and she must have come off victor by the quick use of her sting. strength

Under

the

these circumstances she

and where she

could, without

must have struck when selecting

any particu-

That she quite realized the power of her foe was shown by her next action. With the utmost cirlar spot.

cumspection she settled down upon the spider and

made mouth

a

prolonged and

parts.

The

careful

investigation

examination of the

was

satisfactory,

and

without any further stinging she seized the spider by

226

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS one

and

leg,

good load

this

earth,

and

for her,

strength to pull

it

off.

It

was a

evidently required

all

of her

time really dragged it

Not

along.

it

away was a lump of was stowed; and then

far

under which the treasure

began the usual hunting performance, which soon sulted in the discovery of another cavity which

re-

had a

very small opening.

She crept

in,

remained a minute, and then came out

and brought her spider head went in

easily,

to this

but

it

new

The

hiding-place.

took a great deal of tugging

At last both spider and wasp and everything remained quiet for

to get the rest to follow.

were out of

sight,

so long that

we began

But no; when

really to see the final act in the play.

the off

little

wasp came creeping out

on another extended

tempt to follow her. halting-place, for

tour, in

legs.

exerted

all

The

it

was only

task, however,

it

was

by pulling

at

last

to try to

one of

its

was not an easy one. She

her strength, so that

At

at-

She doubtless selected another

we expected

victim torn to pieces before our eyes, and not come.

to start

which we did not

when she returned

get the spider out of the hole

hind

we were

to think that this time

to see the still

it

did

she seemed to realize that there

was more than one way

to

accomplish her end, and

turned her attention to cutting away the earth to 227

make

WASPS, SOCIAL the opening larger.

dragged she

After a few moments' work she

and although the passage was

tried again,

too small

AND SOLITARY still

much

convenience the spider was at length

for

forth, looking

much

As

the worse for wear.

moved away we alarmed her by

lifting

some

We

up, leaving the spider on the ground.

vines

and she

that prevented our keeping her in view,

flew

seized the

opportunity to bend and twist the plants this that so that the

changes that

ground might be

left

we made probably

disconcerted her, for

she seemed to lose track of her prey.

hour she hunted about,

circling

way and uncovered. The

For over half an

above the place and

running around and around over the ground. often

came

understand

so close to the spider that

why

she did not see

covered, and again she

she

At

We

last

We

was

re-

tried to follow

to this

we had

thus far been unable to penetrate.

we had been

time

entirely unable to under-

stand the actions of marginatus, and each

added

it

not

soon disappeared into the undiscovered

country which

Up

it.

off.

we could

the vines were so thick that, in spite of our

her, but efforts,

started

She

to

new example

our confusion instead of clearing

were inclined

for herself, but

to think that she never

it

away.

made

a nest

caught her spider and then hurried

about for a good place to store 228

it,

and that her absurd

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS conduct was the result of an indecision of character

which made

it

extremely

difficult for

her to choose a

The

last part of this

place and be contented with

judgment holds

we have

history, but

her

own

We

even

true,

now when we know

her whole

at last learned that she does dig

nest.

had watched a wasp

ried her spider

her take

it.

it

from place

into a crevice

earth which she

some time

for

to place,

as she car-

and

finally

saw

among some rough lumps

We

had previously examined.

of ex-

pected one of the long spells of eventless waiting to

which she had accustomed peering into the hole

us,

we found

but on lying that there

down and

was an open-

ing on the further side, for a ray of light feebly penetrated

Moving about

the interior.

was our wasp, and distinctly, that she

her

method

-

where she may

-

We

secretly

make

illumination

we could hole.

sheltered

see, quite

This then

is

hiding-place

her nest, that no creature

her treasure

with

it

backward

is

hidden.

for a long distance

-

-

as

much

wasp which is said backward before a moving horse and catch the

as four or five feet.

flies

some

dim

have twice seen a marginatus pick up her spider

fly

to fly

little,

was digging a find

to

may know where and

after a

in this

This

recalls the

that are hovering over

it.

229

WASPS, SOCIAL P. marginatus

AND SOLITARY

not troubled by any notion as to

is

the family connections of the spider that she takes.

Anything

come is

it

will

do provided she

and carry

it

some

killed at once, while in others

strong enough to over-

The

to her nest.

quite variable, since in

in the

is

it

her sting

effect of

cases the victim

was but

little

was

affected

beginning and lived for eighteen or twenty days.

At eleven o'clock on the morning of a warm day

in

mid-August we saw the steel-blue Pompilus scelestus dragging a big Lycosid across a sixteen millimeters long

the

wasp was but

field.

and wide

The

thirteen millimeters long

slender, so that the weight of the spider

three times that of

spider

its

backward was evident

captor.

was

in proportion, while

The

and very

was

at least

necessity for going

wasp moved was dragging.

in this case, but the

rapidly considering the load that she

As she worked her way along she made frequent pauses, stopping for two or three minutes at a time in some little hollow, or under leaves or weeds.

She spent a good

deal of time, during these pauses, in cleaning herself,

and a good deal

of time also in doing something to the

spider which

we could

be biting the

legs,

not understand.

She seemed

to

near the body, beginning with an an-

and working backward, and then She went repeating the operation on the other side. terior leg

on one

side

230

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS this

through to us

it

squeezing process again and again, and

looked as though she might be trying to force

back the juices from the to cutting

them

off;

legs into the

She had made her way along

prey and start on again. in this fashion for

body preparatory

but after a time she would seize her

some ten

feet,

when

a second wasp

appeared and alighted on a weed near by. loper

was a

actions spider.

trifle

greatly interested in the paralyzed

moment

the Pompilus stopped for a

moved from stem

to

stem

just as a cat stalks a bird.

The

other

inter-

smaller than the other, and from her

was evidently

When

This

in a stealthy

rightful

the

manner

owner

of the

prey was disturbed and dashed at her, driving her away again and again, but she flew only a short distance and

was soon back, always creeping nearer and nearer the spider. tion,

of

We,

too,

were watching with

to

closest atten-

but our desire was to see the speedy homecoming

Pompilus and

of her victim;

to learn

and

whether she cut

so, interesting

as

off the legs

was the contest

between the wasp and the wasp-inquiline, we decided to interfere

and remove the

intruder.

This was very

easily accomplished, since the little insect

upon following the spider presence, and allowed us

that she

was

so intent

was oblivious

to

our

to place a bottle over her as

she stood eagerly looking for a chance to advance. 231

Her

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL removal gave great

to the other

relief

wasp, as was

manifested by an entire change of manner.

Before, she

had been constantly on the lookout, moving only with the greatest circumspection, but

With

vigilance. relieved,

before us status

now

she relaxed her

the Ceropales in our vial we, too,

and now the path of discovery seemed ;

felt

clear

but scarcely had things assumed their old

when a second enemy,

a

much

larger

and bolder

Ceropales, threw both the Pompilus and ourselves into

Again we took the side of our wasp and

consternation.

drove the other one

moments

later.

gallant fashion

came back her.

the

off,

but only to see

The Pompilus now and pursued

it

it

return a few

flew at

it

far afield, but

in a

most

when she

enemy was but a few seconds behind

Here we again interposed and removed the second

Ceropales from the

field of action.

wasp now resumed her journey. Before long she came to a shallow depression in the ground which was partly sheltered by All cause for anxiety being over, the

an overhanging lump of

earth,

and under

this covering

she dropped the spider and again began to squeeze legs.

After a

moment

its

to the other side

was subjected to further Next, her toilet was attended to, and

of the depression,

manipulation.

she removed

it

where

it

then the spider was carried back and placed again 232

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS under the lump of earth.

At

least ten times

was

that

limp and helpless creature dragged from one side to the other of the

depression, a distance of about

little

two inches, the time between being

filled in

by the wasp

with cleaning herself and squeezing the legs of her victim.

After forty minutes of this tedious delay the

moment came when

she picked up her burden with

renewed determination and started rapidly on her way.

We

kept very close to her, but she did not allow our

presence to interrupt her work, and, indeed, paid no attention to

After she had gone along for a distance

it.

was another pause, of only and when she resumed her on-

of about eight feet there five

minutes

this time,

ward march

it

was

new

in a

direction.

Thus

far she

had gone almost due south, but now she turned and went

six feet

toward the west.

was dropped. There was no hole

Suddenly the spider in sight, but the

wasp some important crisis had arrived. Her whole manner was excited and flurried, and we seemed

to feel that

thought that surely of the nest. still

we had reached

far away,

and

it

may

realize that the task she

for her

the neighborhood

How little we understood her! Her nest was

accomplishment

gress her strength

be that she had just begun to

had undertaken was too heavy that at her present rate of pro-

would be exhausted before she could 233

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

reach her goal. At any rate, something was wrong.

was

spider

made

a

left

number

being gone as

The

unprotected on the ground while she of long excursions without

much

back from these

it,

sometimes

On

as fifteen minutes.

coming

trips she would return to the task of

squeezing the legs with such energy and persistence that

we expected

them drop

to see

run over the ground in

all

off.

Then

she would

directions, looking

under

lumps of earth and stones and poking her head every

Was

hole.

little

spot near at

hand

into

she trying to find some suitable

to take the place of the

one which

she had prepared or selected at a distance?

One hour from

the time of her arrival at this place,

and two hours from the time her, she flew

time.

We

away and was gone

herself in this

be

filled

top of a

way she was new

with a

tall

spider,

Perhaps she meant

fell

for

to

watch

an unusually long

visiting the spot to

fly

after she

with

had

to

it,

which

On her return she seemed

idea, for after climbing to the

weed

stout

down, seized the

she could

we began

can only suppose that when she absented

she wished to convey her booty. to

that

that

and lift

but

raised

tried to to

it

it

it

grew near by, she came drag

it

up

the stem.

such an elevation that

was too heavy

for her

and

to a height of three inches.

She then flew away again, and on her return we caught 234

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS her, fearing that she

was becoming discouraged and

that she might presently depart to be seen no more.

Had

there been any prospect of her solving the

diffi-

culty that beset her our patience might have held out to the end,

but this was evidently a case in which there

was a

failure of instinct, or intelligence, or

faculty

was concerned.

More than

a year passed before

whatever

we had another

op-

portunity of solving this problem of scelestus, and the pleasure with which

we

hailed her second appearance

may be easily imagined. This time the wasp had made her nest, but was not ready to fill it, and

in

our garden

when we

first

saw her she was running about without

any particular aim supposed her

to

in view, although at the time

Before long she went and

be hunting.

took a look at the neat round hole which she had near the fence that separates the garden

The

we

made

from the woods.

earth that had been taken out either had been

carried to a distance or

had been swept away

after the

digging was completed, for there was no pile to be seen.

This was

at

two o'clock of a cloudy afternoon.

be that she needed the stimulus of sunshine to her hunt, or perhaps she realized that what was the day

would not give her

sufficient

home.

At any

spider and bring

it

235

may make

It

left

of

time to capture her rate,

she spent the

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

remainder of the afternoon in making short excursions

around her

attended, at a

nest,

little

by a

distance,

smaller blue wasp, Pompilus subviolaceus, whose pre-

sence she did not seem to notice.

These

from ten

nest,

from

to

fifteen

twenty

from the

feet

minutes to half an hour.

to the nest she flattened herself out

wriggled

around tions

it

in

the

trips

each occupying

At every return

on the ground and

and then dragged

dust,

in the strangest

took her

manner.

herself all

Perhaps these

were indications of pleasurable emotion.

We

ac-

had

seen them once before, in Priononyx atrata just before

she carried a locust into her nest.

At a

little

after four o'clock she

very carefully, the plants

began

and grasses

to investigate,

that immediately

surrounded her hole, showing an especial interest in

one bunch of clover that grew four inches away.

Into

and peering curiously among the greenery, we discovered her hanging to a leaf, which was sheltered by thick foliage on all sides. Here she

this she finally vanished,

remained motionless and probably

sundown, when we

When we following scelestus

We

went

thought

it

still

asleep

until

her for the night.

left

to the

morning,

was

fast

garden

at eight o'clock

on the

subviolaceus was on hand, but

sound asleep

best to

awaken 236

in her

leafy bower.

her, for a large spider

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS had spread

its

drop upon

it

web

just below,

and

if

the

nothing could save her.

wasp should

We

therefore

aroused her gently, whereupon she crept slowly up the

stem and, taking her stand on the highest point, veyed the world. Then, she

made

her

toilet,

and washing her

sur-

after stretching herself sleepily,

cleaning off her wings and legs,

When

face with her feet like a cat.

these duties were finished she walked slowly about for

an hour,

visiting her nest every

at

denly,

now and

then.

Sud-

her whole manner

half past nine o'clock,

changed, and seeming very much excited she ran rapidly along, parallel with the fence, for fifteen or twenty feet,

and then, woods.

rising

on her wings, flew

far

away

She had evidently gone hunting

we watched

eagerly for her return.

into the

and

at last,

She was not suc-

cessful at once, however, for at half past ten she

came

back without anything, stayed at the nest for a few minutes, and then flew to the woods again with the

same

excited

manner

as before.

Perhaps she had

al-

ready caught her spider at some far distant spot, and

was

home

getting ;

peared,

but

it

her bearings preparatory to bringing

it

was half past one when she suddenly ap-

five or six inches

ward through the

fence,

from the

nest,

coming back-

and dragging a large Lycosid.

This she laid down close by, and began 237

to bite at the

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

manner of the wasp we had seen Her movements were full of nervous

legs quite after the

the year before.

marked

excitement, in day. to

contrast to those of the previous

Presently she went to look at her nest, and seemed

be struck with a thought that had already occurred -

to us

-

that

it

was decidedly too small

Back she went

spider.

measured

victim,

it

make

to

it

that the spider

markably

at

larger.

enlarge their holes

wasps

it,

once returned to the nest

We have several times seen

when

would not go

intelligent

hold the

with her eye, without touching

drew her conclusions, and and began

to

for another survey of her bulky

a

trial

in,

had demonstrated

but this seemed a

re-

use of the comparative faculty.

Her method

of

nel with her

head down and her abdomen curved under,

work was

peculiar.

Standing in the tun-

she bit the earth loose with her mandibles and pushed it

under her body and beyond the

When it

a

little

tip of the

had accumulated she backed

abdomen.

out, holding

in this way.

While she was thus employed the spider was attacked by a very have

tiny red ant, that could not

stirred

insignificant

it.

When

the

marauder she

by any

possibility

wasp caught

sight of this

into a

of wild fury,

fell

fit

and bending her abdomen under, seized the ant again and again in her mandibles, and flung it backward 238

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS The

against the tip of her sting.

creature finally

little

escaped, seeming none the worse for the rough handling to which

had been subjected, while the wasp,

it

trembling with excitement, grasped her spider and

still

rushed

a distance of several

off to

on a weed and depositing

feet,

The

there.

it

carrying

it

up

labor of ex-

cavation was then resumed, and after a half-hour's

work the

nest

was completed

Coming up head around being

it.

left

The

she flattened herself out on

dragged herself

thus,

spider was now brought

all

to the nest,

once on the way while she ran in and out again,

and was taken Backing

first,

and sprawling

the ground,

to her satisfaction.

new and

in after a

in herself, she seized

men and dragged

it

original fashion.

by the

tip of the

abdo-

down

without any trouble, since

the legs were gently pushed

up over the head and made

no

it

resistance.

In two minutes she emerged from the opening, and standing on the four posterior

legs,

with her

abdomen

hanging down into the hole, scratched the earth back-

ward with she pushed filled still

the front legs it

down with

and mandibles. the

As

it

fell

in

abdomen, and as the hole

she raised herself higher and higher on her legs,

using the tip of the

into place.

abdomen

to

work the material

WASPS, SOCIAL

When

AND SOLITARY was nearly completed,

the filling of the nest

we caught

and

the wasp,

back the earth into the

after taking the spider, hole.

Subviolaceus,

threw

who had

watched the homecoming from a respectful distance,

now

felt

that her turn

the spot began to dig.

had come, and descending upon Not finding anything, she shifted

her position several times, and worked industriously,

even returning after we had

Sharp posit

her away.

frightened

says that a Ceropales has been observed to ovi-

on a

spider, not while

it

was being

carried in, but

subsequently by entering the nest for the purpose

and the actions

We

tentions on her part. at

have watched her

a time running into the open

field,

nests

for

an hour

on the Bembex

sometimes coming out again directly and some-

times remaining inside for several minutes. likely that she it

;

of subviolaceus pointed to similar in-

may be

would

that she

that are often

made

utilize the flies of

was looking in the

for the

same

not notice subviolaceus, and

it

It is not

Bembex, but

Pompelid nests

locality.

is difficult

Scelestus did to see

why a

wasp should be disturbed by the presence of a paraIn making and storing her nest she is the blind site. instrument of an impelling power

must do, but not why she does

it.

;

she

knows what she

Her descendants

are

in most cases as completely outside of her experience

240

-

.---

n",

,^- >V.!isjljSfialSfiB*sv>

K'-

./--

IIJ

.-

.

-

A/

"

'

wAXv *;

THE HOME-COMING OF SCELESTUS

"*

.iix/-.

lW

< ,:

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS as her ancestors,

and how should she guess

presence of a certain

Of what happens

race? she

is

or

fly

wasp means danger

to her

to her

egg after she leaves

it

so absolutely ignorant that she might easily look

on with serene indifference

own

that the

at the destruction of her

larva by that of the intruder.

In Astata we

might be expected, a calm tolerance of the Chrysis

fly,

see, as

visits of

the

but the uneasiness of scelestus herself at

the sight of Ceropales

and the valorous defense

poxy Ion show more highly developed

of Try-

Bem-

instincts.

bex, too, deeply resents the presence of parasites, al-

though after the deed

is

done she feeds

their

without questioning their right to her care. bees,

Andrena, and Nomada, which

are said to live

genera there

is

is

parasitic

on most friendly terms; but

young

Among upon

it,

in other

a deep-seated enmity between host and

parasite.

In the literature of the Hymenoptera references have

been made from time

to

time to certain wasps that cut

off the legs of spiders or

other creatures before storing

them away; but observations on the subject have been rare and not very definite. Brehm, in the "Thierleben," says that Agenia punctata builds nests of

and places

in each

from which she has

cell first

mud,

one moderately large spider

removed 243

all

the legs.

The

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

most interesting notes on the subject have been made

M. Goureau, who

by

spiders that

having had the

an account of finding two

had been mutilated by wasps, one of them all

of the legs cut

and the other

off,

all

At another time a wasp that was

first pair.

near him

gives

let fall

but

flying

a spider, which he captured before

The wasp

could be recovered by the owner.

it

escaped,

so that he could not determine the species, but the spider's legs

He

had been removed.

concluded that

stead of stinging the spiders the wasps

them

He does not seem

so that they could not run away.

to realize that

in-

had mutilated

death would certainly result from such

an operation.

Vespa germanica often cuts wasp, or even cuts

away with is

it,

its

but this

body is

off the

into

only

two

when

wings of a dead

parts, before flying

the captured insect

too large to be handled in any other way;

pilus fuscipennis

from her

sometimes cuts

off

spider, although without

and Pom-

one or more legs

any regular method

of procedure.

Agenia bombycina finds a nesting-place

on our smoke-house,

in the crevice

to her liking

between the bricks

and the wooden door-frame, where she makes of

little

mud

cells,

clusters

putting one mutilated spider into

each, and storing about one a day.

244

Her

locality sense

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS is

unusually poor, owing apparently to her intense

nervousness and excitability, but some individuals

are

endowed than

better

others in this respect.

On

a bright morning in the middle

August we stationed ourselves by the smoke-house at eight o'clock, and half of

an hour

lumps

later

an Agenia began

under the door frame. steadily,

load

to bring

of earth, working out of sight

She kept

NEST OF AGENIA

BOMBYCINA at

it

spending three or four minutes in getting a

and one or two

in placing

it.

At twelve

o'clock,

her nest being ready, she flew away to hunt for a spider.

and goes

So long as a wasp comes

at frequent intervals

time

slips

away rapidly, but to keep one's attention unflagging through hours of watching

weariness to the

We

flesh.

of our Agenia until three,

is

saw no more

when she

ap-

peared, half walking, half flying through

Her

the grass, going forward.

was

spider

FOUND

held by the spinnerets, and being larger

than she was

it

trailed

the spider

made

her

On

behind her.

reaching the wall she began to climb fall

LYCOSA KOCH ",

;

IN NEST OF AGENIA BOM-

BYCINA

but the weight of

again and again, and forty

245

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

minutes passed in wearisome

toil

before

it

was

safely put

away. The egg having been laid, she began to bring earth for closing, and we felt thankful that our task as well as hers

was nearly

She worked slowly now,

over.

taking ten or fifteen minutes for a trip but after bringing ;

in the sixth pellet she took

on a

livelier air,

and before

long we were convinced that she had begun to build a new cell. For two hours longer we watched her un-

when we

remitting labor, and

was

her at six o'clock she

back and forth as briskly as

flying

Another Agenia, at three o'clock

head

left

in, tail

ever.

ambitious, brought her spider

less

and then went

sticking out.

We

to

cut

bed

an empty

in

away

cell,

a section of the

door-frame that covered the spot without disturbing her slumber.

This one could never remember where

her nest was, but had a long hunt for she brought a pellet

;

it

every time

and when she had caught the

spider she lost herself completely on the brick wall,

going to the very top, and even around the corner

on

to the side of the building.

would

up

fly

back

afresh,

and

Every

little

to the grass at the threshold in

this

way

the right spot by accident.

she finally

and

start

stumbled on

This seemed very stupid

of her, as she

made many

havior was in

striking contrast to

246

while she

locality studies. little

Her

be-

Rhopalum's

THE SPIDER-HUNTERS unerring choice of one tiny pin-hole just like

The egg

among hundreds

it.

larva of

is laid.

bombycina cocoons nine days

The

spiders that

we found

dead even when taken on the day of

was no

in the cells storing.

rule about the degree of mutilation,

seven legs

left,

two

five,

were

There

one having

one two, and four none.

have no doubt that the object of save room in the nest.

after the

this curious habit

We is

to

Chapter

X

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER September a

in

little

EARLY denly became very common first

black Tachytes sudin the garden.

one that we saw was going forwards in a

The

series of

long jumps, carrying a small grasshopper which was held by the base of the antennae. She soon doubled on

her tracks, and

it

became evident

that she did not

know

her way; but after going about in circles for two min-

When

utes she ran into her nest.

she

came out she

spent a long time in circling around, flying close to the

ground in wavy, snaky run a few steps; but

when

lines,

occasionally alighting to

in spite of this locality study, ten

came jumping along with her second grasshopper, she had lost her nest again and

minutes

later,

she

hunted about just as before, twice going directly over it

without seeing

other

wasp

it.

of the

While she was thus occupied an-

same

species attacked her

and

tried

to get possession of the grasshopper, but the rightful

owner was able

to

defend

it.

At

248

last

it

was stored away,

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER and she proceeded

to

fill

the nest, scratching the earth

and working it down with the She worked quietly but steadily

in with her first legs

of the

abdomen.

tip

for

TACHYTES

ten minutes, closing the place neatly, bits of leaf

and pieces

and then brought

of earth to cover

it

all

over.

On the same afternoon we saw another of these digging her nest, but she was so

much

wasps

disturbed

we came anywhere near her that we were retire. On the next day we saw her astride

when

obliged to of a small

grasshopper, jumping along like the one of the day before.

When

She too had great trouble

in finding her

she reached the nest she laid her prey

way.

down

while she went inside for a moment, and then, coming

249

WASPS, SOCIAL out, seized

it

AND SOLITARY

by the antennae and backed

instead of taking

in forwards as

it

was done

in with

it,

in the other

case.

Another wasp of

this species carried

a

much

larger

grasshopper, which was so heavy that she could not

jump with In

it,

but was obliged to keep to the ground.

this case only

one was used instead of two, which

wasp was from her nest, and

the usual number. This

first

of twenty feet

yet she

seen at a distance

went straight

to the right spot without the least confusion,

that

some individuals

of the species

is

showing

have a better idea

of locality than others.

The ment

nest

is

a short, shallow tunnel with an enlarge-

at the end,

within which are placed the grass-

hoppers, on their backs, with their heads

packed

in.

Earth

is

solidly into the tunnel, but not into the cavity

at the end.

We

took two eggs of this species.

Each was placed

across the thorax of the grasshopper at the base of the

Both hatched

neck, on the ventral side. thirty-six

hours from the time they were

three days, ate only

and then spun

their cocoons.

at the

end of

laid, ate for

One

of

them

one small grasshopper, leaving a second one

untouched, while the other finished the large grass-

hopper that formed her

sole provision.

250

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER The

grasshoppers taken from the nests,

were in

ber,

mouth

all

parts,

five in

cases alive, there being a quivering of the

and

any stimulation.

in

some cases

of the legs also, without

This condition lasted for twenty-four

hours from the time the poison was injected. that they

became

quiet, but

were destroyed by the It is

so

remained

much

After

alive until they

larvae.

a curious thing that in these wasps

perfection of that is

num-

method

is

found the

of paralyzing the prey

which

dwelt upon by Fabre, although from their

habits this fine

workmanship

is

not of the slightest use

NEST OF TACHYTES

to

them.

They entomb

their

victims underground,

where the conditions are favorable

to their preservation,

and the extremely short period that elapses between 25 1

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL the laying of the egg

makes

of the cocoon

a matter of indifference whether the grass-

it

hopper

and the spinning

alive or dead, since in

is

eaten before decomposition set

We deserve

no

any case

it

would be

in.

credit for discovering a second species,

Tachytes peptonica, for by her loud buzzing, slow

and

flight,

persistent hovering over the nest she gave us every

assistance in her power.

She looks and acts

of the large leaf-cutting bees,

and

this

like

one

resemblance

is

heightened by the fact that the grasshopper which she carries

which

is is

frequently of a leaf-green color.

Her

nest,

sometimes on the bare ground and sometimes

in the grass, has

no external sign

to

mark

it,

and when

with a great deal of fuss and buzzing she descends

and burrows,

it

closes

behind her and disappears from

view, so that unless one

no way of detecting slight it

in

amount

it

marks the exact spot

On

afterward.

there

is

her exit a very

of scratching closes the hole

and leaves

looking exactly like the surrounding surface; so that

comparing her work with the protracted labor

Ammophila and some

species of

ing the locality of the nest, cess to

Pompilus

we were

of

in disguis-

struck by the suc-

which she attained with a very

trifling

amount

of effort. It takes

peptonica thirty or forty minutes to catch 252

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER a grasshopper, and at each fifteen

minutes inside the

visit

nest.

ried in the mandibles, supported

pairs of legs. this species,

bringing

it

We

she remains for ten or

The grasshopper

is

by the second and

car-

third

never succeeded in opening a nest of

but a grasshopper taken as the wasp was

home

did not die until the sixth day.

In our summer work we often found ourselves wishing that

we could be

in half

and could chase several wasps did

we

feel these desires

a dozen places at once

at the

same

Never

time.

more keenly than on

the twenty-

ninth of July, when, after spending the best part of an

hour in watching the hunting of an Ammophila, we were obliged to choose between following her to a possible

and giving our attention to a little jet-black wasp, Lyroda subita, which we now saw for the first time. This wasp was running around a bunch of clover conclusion,

in a nervous, agitated

manner, as though she were

oppressed by some great anxiety. covering something entirely

The chance

new decided us

our Ammophiline hopes, and we sat down

of dis-

to relinquish at the feet of

our new teacher.

We bunch

could not see anything remarkable about that of clover, but certainly the spot

attraction for the uneasy in

one direction and then

little

wasp.

in another.

253

had some strong She ran She

off first

circled

about

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL and made short

flights

always returned.

At

interest

now

last

this

that,

ground and picking up a

small black cricket which had been lying close by

She flew up into the

time.

air

with

it,

but even

not leave the neighborhood, continuing to place to place, alighting

but

she betrayed the secret of her

to the

by descending

way and now

fly

all

the

now

did

about from

now and again on

the bean

plants.

After this performance had lasted for five minutes

she brought her burden back to the same spot that

had occupied

down, and without vouch-

it

any explanation of her conduct, began

safing to us

burrow

before, laid

She went down head

into the soft earth.

backing out with the front legs.

dirt,

it

to

first,

which she carried with the

While she was thus occupied we defended

her booty against two hunting parties of ants which, at

upon it and would certainly have we had not been at hand.

different times, fell

carried It

it

off if

took the wasp twenty minutes to open the burrow,

although, as

we afterward

learned,

it

had been exca-

vated before. At the end of that time she turned around inside,

came out head

first,

and dragged the

cricket

within.

We

at

once opened the nest, but found

to follow the tunnel

it

impossible

on account of the crumbling of 254

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER the earth.

doomed

Indeed,

to

little

failure, for

complete

gone down between a

we almost concluded

six

it

we were

that

was not

until

we had

and seven inches that we found, in

wasp in company with three crickets, which was a larva a day or two old. At the

pocket, our

upon one

of

we knew nothing of the habits of Bembex spinolae, and we were much astonished to find a wasp which evitime

dently fed her young from day to day.

The contents of wasp-nursery

the nest were carefully conveyed to our

The

at the cottage.

cricket that

we had

upon which one was alive, as was

seen taken in was dead, as was also the one

was

the larva

feeding.

The

third

shown by a rhythmic movement

By

side.

On

the

the larva

of the palp

on the

right

the next day, however, this one also was dead. of the third day, July thirty-first,

morning

had eaten

all

of the

first

cricket

and the greater

part of one of the others, leaving only the large hind legs.

Supplying the place of the mother, we killed two more

and put them

into the tube.

One

of these

was

eight

millimeters long, this being about the size of those which the

wasp

herself

had caught, while the other was

another species and meters long.

Its size

much

being thirty

milli-

and kind, however, made no

differ-

larger,

ence to the larva, which attacked there were

of

this

one next, although

two small ones yet untouched. 2 55

It ate

only

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY and then passed

half of this big one, however,

August second we gave

two more small

it

On

on.

and

crickets,

day and the one following its good appetite continued, but on August fourth it stopped eating. We

for that

thought that

its

pected to see

it

larval

spin

life

its

must be completed, and

cocoon, but something was lack-

ing which we were too ignorant fifth it died.

It

had eaten

the large one, which

ex-

six

was equal

to supply,

and on August

small crickets and half of

about two more. Thus

to

ended our only acquaintance with

this interesting little

wasp.

The second week

August furnished such good play n our garden that island life was neglected; but one brilliant

of

morning we rowed over

and Philanthus, hoping for us. crest

to the

that something

home

new was

We were not disappointed, for as we

we met a

of

Bembex in store

climbed the

splendid Chlorion cceruleum dressed in

shining blue, cricket in mouth, plunging side through the long grass.

down

the

hill-

Twenty-five feet below,

she reached her underground home, vanished for two or three minutes, and then, coming to the entrance,

turned her head from side to side as though listening.

Some

indiscreet insect

was chirping loudly not

and before long the wasp ran out

far

away,

into the grass, flew to

a stump, dropped to the ground, flew to the top of a 256

tall

CHLORION AND THE INDISCREET CRICKET

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER A moment

weed, dropped again, and ran into a hole. later she

came

out, dragging a very

that crossed her path

the cricket

head

was chased

was placed on

its

limp cricket.

vindictively,

An

back and scraped from

to foot four or five times with the mandibles.

then ran a

farther, laid

little

ant

and then

it

peated the operation, after which

down it

again,

was taken

and

She re-

into the

nest.

To

find ourselves

on the track of a

lively

wasp

at the

beginning of her day's work was great good luck, and as

Madam

Cceruleum was perfectly

fearless

and did

her hunting on foot, instead of disconcerting us with

by which many

the long flights

the chase hopeless,

we had

of our

wasps made

every chance to learn her

ways. It

was a

o'clock

fatal

and one,

day

for the crickets.

sixteen

to provision three cells,

vations.

Between nine

had been packed away, enough as we knew from former obser-

Her manner was

brisk

and

energetic, as she

ran about poking her head into every likely hole.

At

one time we saw her dislodge a cricket which tried to escape by hiding under some brush. She pursued, there

was a

lively

scrimmage, and

and was then held gave

it

it

was pulled out

in the mandibles,

quite limp

back up, while she

a prolonged sting under the neck, after which

259

WASPS, SOCIAL it

AND SOLITARY

was carried home without further manipulation. At

another time she paused in her home-coming to give the

The

victim one long squeeze at the neck.

placed in pockets, neatly arranged

were

crickets

their

backs with

heads inward and their long legs projecting into

their

the

on

main

tunnel.

from day

them

to

They were

day

alive

when

taken, but died

in the laboratory, the larvae eating

in this state without criticism.

While we were watching we noticed a much smaller

wasp hovering about, and presently she slipped When the owner returned and found the nest. there

was a

slight

commotion

into her,

in the passage-way,

and

then the inquiline appeared, shaking her wings in a

manner, as though she cared nothing for an

flippant

encounter with the Big Blue.

Instead of coming out

immediately as usual, cceruleum stayed inside for twentyfive

We

minutes.

should like to think that she was

occupied in finding and destroying the egg of the parasite,

but we have no reason to suppose that she could

recognize that

Cceruleum to

day

to

fit

menace

lives in

to her fortunes.

her nest and enlarges

her necessities.

On

it

from day

going over to the island

one morning we found a cricket sleeping calmly in the entrance way, tion.

It

little

guessing

how dangerous was

did not budge until the wasp

260

its

posi-

came creeping up

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER from below, when

it

to a place of safety.

jumped away

Before the day's hunting began, a long study of the

was made on

locality

foot, tufts of grass,

stones being carefully noted,

ease with which the nest

One

on the Bembex

very anxious

air,

She

pair of legs.

she picked

afterward found. little

red Tachysphex

field of the island.

She had a

and was running about wildly and

let it

drop four or

five times,

up again she seemed to sting

it

we were

began

accounts for the

holding a small grasshopper with the third

rapidly,

this

this

we saw a

July afternoon

tarsata

is

and

weeds and

not quite certain.

At

last

to rush about, investigating the

she

and when it,

but of

and

left it

Bembex

holes,

them and perhaps throwing out a little though she intended to use it, and then hurrying

entering one of dirt as

We

off to another.

was the

have no doubt that her confusion

result of her

having

lost

track of a hole that

she had made, as was the case with P. quinquenotatus in one of our earlier observations.

The Pompilus,

after

a long search, resigned herself to the necessities of the case and

made

a

new

nest

;

but

this little

wasp could not

adjust herself to a break in the system of her instinctive activities,

We

and

at last deserted her

prey and disappeared.

waited for an hour; and then, as she did not

turn,

we took

possession of the grasshopper. 261

It

re-

gave no

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

response to stimulation and never revived, a very careful

was quite dead. the next morning we again saw this wasp on the

examination later showing that

On

Bembex when

it

She was looking

field.

for a nesting-place,

she had selected one she began to work

weather was

were in the

warm and

perhaps resenting the presence of the

perhaps in a

the

sunny, so that the Bembecids

swing of their obstreperous

full

;

and

spirit of teasing,

activity,

and

red wasp, or

little

they kept snatching her

up and carrying her off to a distance of two or three feet. She took these interruptions with the most philosophic composure, hurrying back to her as she

was

When

the nest

released, without

was

work as soon

any display of resentment.

finished, she

made

a careful locality

study both on foot and on the wing and then flew away.

In twenty minutes she came back, apparently fresh her all

memory,

made

careful notes of

the points that could help her to identify the place.

She dug a minutes all

for she again

to re-

little

later,

more and then departed,

on

foot,

the precautions she

ment she was unable

to return five

with a grasshopper.

had taken,

to

remember

In spite of

at this exciting

just

mo-

where her nest

was, and spent some time in running wildly about, but

when

she did find

it

she went in without delay.

We

caught her as she came out, and dug up the grasshopper, 262

THE ENEMIES OF THE GRASSHOPPER but found no egg, so that she probably would have

brought in a second victim had we

her go.

let

The

tunnel ran in obliquely for an inch and a half, the

pocket at the end being two inches below the surface.

A

few days

later

we saw Larra

quebecensis, another

grasshopper wasp, with the same red abdomen

little

as tarsata, going to

throwing out a

and

fro

about her

nest, occasionally

She ran about near by

sand.

little

through the afternoon, but was not in a

mood

all

for work.

On the next morning at ten o'clock, we found her touching

up the

nest a

little,

after

which she

left it

open and

In an hour she came leaping along

like

Tachytes, holding a small grasshopper in the third

legs.

flew away.

This was placed inside the door while she turned around,

and was then pulled and

in twenty

more a

She came out immediately,

in.

minutes brought a second, and in ten

third grasshopper, staying within this time for

some minutes,

after

which she closed the

nest.

We took

out the grasshoppers, one of which bore an egg underneath, in the middle, in front of the

The

grasshoppers lived for

the egg did not develop. that

had

laid

for her nest.

down

down

pair of legs.

and seven days, but once saw a quebecensis

five, six,

We

her grasshopper while she hunted

She was moving

the face of a

first

cliff,

in sinuous lines

up and

with incredible rapidity 263

;

we

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

could not distinguish her, but could see only a black streak with an occasional flash of crimson. rises

on her wings,

appearing as

even guess

if

too, she is

by magic,

it

When

wonderfully quick,

she dis-

being quite impossible to

at the direction she is taking.

Chapter XI

WORKERS

nests of Pelopaeus

THE

CLAY

IN

cceruleus

and Pelopaeus

cementarius, our two mud-daubers, are

under eaves and

in other sheltered places,

common

and many a

country boy on opening them has been astonished

to

find that they

do not contain wasps, but are crammed

with spiders.

Let them alone, however, and the wasps

somewhere

will arrive, for

when

it

in the

mass

is

an egg; and

hatches the spiders will serve as breakfast, din-

ner and tea for the larva, until the change from the

Arachnida

Hymenoptera has been accomplished. is a wonder that there are any left, such

to the

Poor spiders

!

it

thousands and tens of thousands are destroyed by these

tremendously energetic enemies.

Of what

is

little

humming loudly, benumbed victims into her

Pelopaeus thinking as,

she jams her paralyzed and cylindrical tubes?

If only

we could

get inside of

we could be wasps for a and then come back and tell about it, how much

that

little

head

!

If only

speculation would be saved

!

265

We

day,

vain

can understand her

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL when she

soars gayly into the blue, the sunshine flashing

from her

brilliant

wings

we

;

She

health and freedom.

pillars

when,

but

;

at the

among

we cannot

moment

the delight of

sisters quarrel for the

the carvings of the porch

follow her mental processes

of building, she surrenders herself of instinct, doing she

to the mysterious

sway

what, but doing

joyously,

it

felt

comprehensible when,

is still

and her

at the close of day, she

favorite sleeping-places

too have

knows not

and preserving through

own

the precious possession of her

it all

Every

individuality.

aspect speaks of pleasure as these wasps gather at well or spring, and, singing contentedly, stand on their heads

mud.

to gather their loads of fly

back and

forth,

Briskly and gayly they

pausing at the nest long enough to

A

pat the soft building material into shape.

makes

half a ring at the larger part of the nest or a

whole one next

is

at the

bottom and since one

dries before the

;

put on, the contour of each ring

the tube

is

done, giving a very artistic

only accident, however

;

the

wasp

is

visible

effect.

the whole with lumps

of

mud,

thickened and strengthened. necessary for each

cell,

and

266

This

is

is

to

daub

the walls being thus

About

to build

a good day's work.

when

cares nothing about

the beauty of the structure, for her next step

is

single load

forty loads

are

and provision one

WORKERS It is strange

Pelopaeus

IN CLAY

enough that with no one

knew how

to

do her hunting, and

make

it

is

her

cell;

stranger

but

still

to teach her

now she must

that she should

be impelled to catch nothing but spiders. she

know

fer

one to the other?

How

does

and why should she preNot so unreasonable as some

a spider from a

fly,

wasps, however, she demands nothing further than that

her prey shall belong to this great group, and passes lightly over differences

powerful sting

fits

meet but as the sideration,

wing, she

her to cope with anything she

size of the cell

;

is

on the lookout

makes use

How

must be taken

to

for

something not too

times

large.

be an automaton, and to some

of her wits.

does Pelopaeus seize her spider

how many

may

into con-

and the victim must be carried home on the

Here then she ceases extent

Her

and genera.

of species

is it

stung?

Is the

When and

?

wound

given with

discrimination, a certain point in the ganglion being

pricked, so that the spider killed?

Is there

may be

These were important questions therefore greatly excited over our

the blue wasps

paralyzed, but not

any malaxation?

came

to us, first

and we were

hunt.

flying along, alighted

One

on our

of

cot-

tage wall, and began her search, creeping into corners

and cracks and

investigating cottony

267

lumps of web.

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

In a few moments a small Epeira to

strix (the

only species

be found on the cottage) was dislodged, and at once

dropped

to the floor of the porch.

further attention to

Three more

to the floor without

one discovered was a

little

being followed.

or at least so

it

The

larger than the others,

and was seized by the jaws and first legs before it had time to escape. It was then ball,

paid no

spiders, one after the other, were disturbed

and dropped fifth

it,

The wasp

but went on with her search.

of the

wasp

rolled into a

appeared, and stung, then rolled

more and stung again, and then carried off. We had scarcely drawn breath after this performance a

little

when a second wasp appeared. This one spiders,

and then caught a

stung without any

A

third,

rolling,

dislodged two

which was seized and

and then

instantly borne

third

wasp seized the first spider that she found, and started on her flight at the same moment, away.

stinging

it

on the wing.

So the game went on, while we waxed excitement and fascination of the chase.

warm As

with the

the hours

went by some of the yellow mud-daubers appeared, adding

to the interest of the scene,

not see that their

method

although we could

differed in the least

from that

of cceruleus.

Rarely did they succeed in catching a spider until 268

WORKERS

IN CLAY

they had dislodged two or three. Sometimes the spiders

were followed as they dropped, and were caught on the floor,

but oftener the wasp

let

them escape and continued

At the moment

her search on the wall.

could see that she bent her flicted

of capture

we

abdomen under and

in-

we

a sting, but although

concentrated our atten-

tion

on the point we could not be sure as

part

was touched.

sting

It is

to just

our impression that

was given anywhere,

at

what

this first

random, with the object

of producing a condition of temporary quiet in the victim, so that the next part of the operation could be

carried

on with

The second the

wasp

deliberation.

step in the procedure

to alight

was commonly

for

upon some neighboring object, usuand sting the spider

ally the branch of a bush or tree,

a second time, being evidently in no haste

but the

her as she flew, and her habit

difficulty of following

of alighting above our range of vision,

impossible to see just what she did.

mained on the branch

;

for

made

it

almost

She certainly

some moments,

re-

either resting

quietly or rolling the spider around and around, and

had every opportunity wished; but

we afterward found

exact method, killed at the

to sting

since

moment

it

as carefully as she

that she followed

no

two thirds of the spiders were of capture,

269

and most

of the others

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

died within a week, while a few lived for thirty-five or forty days.

In

this

seventy-three cells

study

we opened

hundred and

five

and handled over two thousand

spi-

ders, watching over them from day to day with a mag-

nifying glass, that

When

no sign of

Pelopasus has

makes another

close to

filled it,

being found in one spot. is

might be neglected.

life

her

cell,

clusters of

Any

it

up and

six to

twenty

she seals

from

especially desirable place

used by great numbers and they make a ;

working

eagerly at their nests,

or bringing in their victims.

compelling instinct, they are

dashing

All animated still

spider she sees, no matter

first

be,

and makes twenty-five or

her

cell is filled,

more mud

by the same

and the

individuals,

character of each enters into her work. the

lively scene,

off for

One

how

picks

tiny

up

may

it

thirty journeys before

while another seems to have a calcu-

lating turn of mind, using four or five big spiders in-

stead of a quantity of small ones. of the calibre of her

trouble

by

cell,

Has

she

and determined

looking farther

and

made a

note

to save herself

selecting the

largest

ones that will go in?

Most

of

them place

their cells vertically; but a

prefer the horizontal position, while

cided as to the matter of direction,

still

others, unde-

make

clusters in

which some are horizontal and others upright. 270

few

Occa-

WORKERS sionally there

material, as

is

IN CLAY

a remarkable innovation in building-

where in a group of

fifteen,

four cells in the

centre were constructed of pure white plaster, forming

a striking contrast to the surrounding

wasp

the

following until the

and

cell

even

that

it

color.

One

original fashion,

beaten track

was completed,

mud

bringing it

over, as

were doing, but

sisters

sticking

an

entire cluster after

daub

to

enough her

an

built

mud

all in

when

the

one spot, so

group was

HORIZONTAL CELLS OF THE MUD-DAUBER

complete

lumps

irregular

were attached here and

there, leaving visible the elegant

architecture of the individual

were too pretty to

spoil ? or

cells.

Did she think they

was she merely one

of those

radical spirits that rebel against conventionality

demand change

for the sake of

change?

variations that furnish Natural Selection with terials;

but rigid as

may

non-survival of the unfit, still

after

spending hours

nests,

seal

produces

in

its

ma-

be the rules regarding the

we

find that the race of Pelo-

many absent-minded

paeus

and

It is these

wasps, that

carefully constructing their

them up empty,

spiders or to lay the egg.

271

forgetting to put in the

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

When an

a

cell is sealed,

interest in

it,

the mother

but she has done

wasp ceases

all

that

is

to take

necessary.

In two or three days the egg hatches, after which the larva spends ten or fifteen days in eating, spins

cocoon.

its

few weeks,

Here

and then

remains, perhaps for only a

it

for there are

two or three generations

in

or perhaps through the long months of

one season, winter.

Fabre gives a most entertaining account of a French species of Pelopaeus

which nests

wide-mouthed

in the

Undisturbed by the steam

chimneys of the peasant. of washing

day or the bustle of dinner-getting, the wasp

enters the

open door, passes unconcerned among the

human smoky

moment

of capture,

in proportion to the nicety with

He

her sting.

says, however,

against the

cells

This species

by which act

who

in the estimation of Fabre,

falls

wasp

and makes her

bricks, out of reach of the flames.

her prey at the

kills

she

inhabitants,

respects a

which she delivers

that at least she follows

a logical method in turning to account these spiders,

menaced with

early decay.

multiplied in each the larva speedily

;

is

cell.

In the

The

first

place the prey

piece actually attacked by

soon a disorganized mass,

but

it is

small and

is

is

likely to

decay

consumed before decom-

position can advance, for when a larva once attacks a

272

WORKERS spider

it

does not leave

it

IN CLAY The

for another.

remain intact, which is enough the short period of larval

life.

the prey consists of a single large piece, that the organic art

must

inspired to take

is

egg, moreover,

brought

in,

is

it

necessary

should be maintained, and a special

be observed in eating

also

that Pelopaeus

The

life

others then

keep them fresh during When, on the contrary,

to

is

it.

It is well

then

numerous small pieces.

always placed on the

whether the storing of the nest

first

is

spider

completed

within a few hours, or whether, as in some cases, occupies several days; and this

M. Fabre

it

considers a

very happy arrangement.

The French point.

many

Ours

Pelopaei differ

kill

from ours

only about two thirds of their victims,

of the others being paralyzed so perfectly that

they live for two or three weeks. of placing the egg lay

it

at nearly every

upon the

difference

is

upon the

last

first

Again, ours, instead

spider, almost invariably

one brought

in.

Another point of

that our larvae frequently start in

up

the soft abdomens, like children

the

plums

who

by eating

first

devour

in their pudding, returning later to the tough

parts that are

left,

a rash and reprehensible course of

action of which their better-taught French cousins are

never guilty.

When

one comes to compare the two

sets

of facts furnished by the two groups of species, the

273

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

deductions which Fabre has drawn as to the importance of the instincts of the French group are seen to be un-

The American

founded. principle

and

species violate nearly every

which he considers necessary

yet they flourish

to their existence,

For our part we

and multiply.

find nothing in the actions of Pelopaeus that needs to

be explained

nothing that

is

not well adapted to the

conditions under which each species works. sure of praise or

depredators

is

The mea-

blame which we mete out

merely a

way

of saying

to these

whether we would

or would not follow their methods in provisioning our

houses and rearing our children.

Perhaps we would

always use large spiders and would always have them fresh; but is

it is

evident that tastes differ, and the matter

so purely a subjective affair that

unsettled.

it

will

have

to

go

In any event, whether her victims be strong

or feeble, old or young, big or

little,

fresh or dry, they

certainly serve admirably in enabling Pelopaeus to rear

brood after brood, and

to people the different parts of

the earth with abundant representatives of her kind.

Chapter XII SENSE OF DIRECTION

WE

once made a number of experiments to

cover in what

to the nest

way

the social wasps

on returning from

dis-

came back

their hunting expeditions.

Were they endowed with some innate power which made memory of places unnecessary, and enabled them any point they wished

to fly in a straight line to

or did their return depend place

method

to reach,

upon the more common-

remembering the appearance

of

of the

countryside ?

One morning

we placed a wasp a yellow- jacket hole that had

at half past eight,

cage over the opening of

been closed since the night before, and caught five

workers, after

which the nest was again

of us taking the cage out

remained

to

watch

on

fifty-

closed,

one

to the lake, while the other

for their return.

At seven minutes before

nine, twenty of the

wasps

were liberated an eighth of a mile from shore near the

end of the

island.

All,

without exception, flew toward 275

WASPS, SOCIAL the island and

away from

AND SOLITARY Whether they setThe boat was then

the nest.

could not be determined.

tled

moved an

eighth of a mile beyond the island to the

north, where, at ten minutes after nine, the remaining

wasps were

and flew

fused,

They seemed a good

set free.

in all directions.

Many

returned to the

boat and alighted, but soon flew away again. settled

on the boat were knocked

deal con-

Two

that

into the water; but

they instantly rose and circled up into the air until out of sight.

Of

the fifty-five wasps that

we

set free, thirty-nine

returned to the nest by ten o'clock, five of them belonging to the lot that flew to the island, since they soon

found their bearings and came directly home, reaching the nest before the wasps of the second lot were liberated.

Of ond

the thirty-five wasps that were set free at the sec-

point, at least twenty started in

Adding these

to the

first

teen that appeared to

twenty,

wrong

we have

know where

directions.

left

only

fif-

to look for their

home, and yet thirty-nine reached the nest

more than an hour from the time the

first

in a little

wasps were

set free.

On

another morning

and took them

we caught

to a boat-house

in the second story of

thirty- eight

workers

on the shore of the

lake,

which was a large room with two 276

SENSE OF DIRECTION good-sized windows; one looked west over the lake and

away from

the nest, the other east toward the nest,

both were wide open. but the other was

and

The west window was the brighter,

light,

the sun being on that side of the

house.

We

placed the cage in the middle of this room and

opened the door, stationing ourselves well so as not to interfere with the

They came flying,

movements

out very naturally, pausing a

one side

of the wasps.

moment

and followed each other so slowly

easily see

to

that

which window they went out by.

before

we could Twenty-

two flew through the west window away from the

and sixteen through the

toward the

east

nest,

nest.

At another time we took fourteen wasps from the nest of a different species

and carried them seventy-

The

three yards to the southeast. that they could

they

all

fly

cage was opened so

out in any direction they chose, and

started in a straight line for the nest.

Later on

same day, we took forty-five from this nest, and set them free one hundred and seventy-six yards to the the

south.

Seven flew north toward the

south, eight west, circled

nest,

twenty-one

east, while the other two

and seven

around as they rose higher and higher,

they were lost to view.

None

in this

to take a fresh start.

277

until

experiment returned

WASPS, SOCIAL Again,

we took

AND SOLITARY

twenty-three wasps three hundred

yards southeast of the nest and liberated them in an field

nest,

seven west or

;

away from the northwest toward the nest, and four

thirteen flew east or south

open

returned to the starting-place and seemed unwilling to

venture out again.

These observations show that the two

species

of

wasps with which we experimented have no sense of direction in the

form of a mysterious additional

sense,

nor yet in the form of a power by which they keep a

and changes

register of the turns

thus able to retrace their way.

and are

in a journey

Our

cage was of wire,

and so open -that they could see all about, as we carried them from place to place; yet when they flew out, they most frequently started a point that

we had

in a

wrong

not passed.

direction

In

and toward

many

instances,

however, these wasps returned to the nest, and

it

seems

highly probable that as they rose higher and higher into as they went, they discovered

some

lofty

treetop or other object that had before served

them

as a

the

air, circling

way they were able to make Bee-keepers know that if young

landmark, and that in their

way home.

this

workers which, in strong hives, pass the

first

ten or

fifteen days of their lives in feeding the larvae without

going abroad, are taken out and set free only a short

278

SENSE OF DIRECTION distance from home, they are unable to find their

back, and

the nursing stage

may be

way

perish, while those that have passed beyond

and have begun

carried long distances

do outside work

to

away and

still

readily

regain the nest.

With the

solitary

from the other end.

wasps we attacked the problem

We observed what the

did in attempting to return to the nest taries,

we watched them when,

they prepared

woods

to leave

social

wasps

with the

;

making the

after

soli-

nest,

to go out into the fields or

it

in search of food or prey, thinking that the pro-

cedure of different species under these circumstances

would afford a clue to find their

pended

to the faculty

way

about.

upon which they

If they

de-

were furnished

with an innate sense of direction they would not need to

make

find the it

a study of the locality of the nest in order to

way back, but

if

they were without this sense

would be only common prudence

to

account of their bearings before going far

The

sight of a bee or a

from some certainty,

How

to its

home

far distant spot, without hesitation or un-

is

indeed marvelous.

Ammophila perform der.

wasp returning

take a good afield.

was

it

all directions, far

this feat

When we saw

we were

possible for her to

filled

first

with won-

hunt for hours, in

and wide, and then return 279

our

in a direct

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL line to

a nest which had been so carefully covered over

that every trace of

To

say that she

its

existence

was

obliterated

?

a creature of instinct, however,

is

is

not quite fair to her ladyship's intelligence, as a better

acquaintance with her would prove.

much

In reading

popular natural history one might suppose that the sects seen flying

about on a summer's day were a part of

some great throng which that

in-

moving onward, those are here to-day being replaced by a new set on the

morrow.

Except during certain seasons the exact op-

posite of this in the

ever

is

same

is

locality

restricted area.

The

true.

flying things

and are the inhabitants

The garden home of

in

to a large extent, the

tain species of

the case of an

of a fairly

which we worked was,

a limited

number

of cer-

wasps that had resided there from

or having found the place accidentally,

permanently.

about us abide

To make

this

had

matter clear

individual of A. urnaria.

birth,

settled there

let

us suppose

In June she

spent her time in sipping nectar from the onion flowers or from the sorrel that grew on the border of the garden.

In July came the days of her courtship and honey-

moon, and these too were passed flower,

in going

from one part of the garden

from flower

to another.

Many

to

a

day we have followed her when she flew from blossom to

blossom along a row of bean plants, turning, when 280

SENSE OF DIRECTION she reached the end, and wending her

back along the next row. see her running over the

Then comes

way

leisurely

a day

when we

ground and looking carefully

under the weeds for a good nesting-place. At is

and she begins

selected

work

before the

When

flight.

is

it

to dig

;

last

a spot

but two or three times

completed she goes away for a short

is

done, and covered over, she

flies

away, but returns again and again within the next few hours, to look at the spot and, perhaps, to little

alteration in her arrangements.

until the visits

are stored

caterpillars

From

this

and the egg

time on, laid,

she

her nest several times a day, so that she becomes

perfectly familiar with the neighborhood, surprising, after

all,

that she

from any point in her

we

to her hole

some

invariably

made

make some

a

little

is

and

it

is

not

able to carry her prey

territory in a nearly direct line

say nearly direct, for there was almost slight

mistake in the direction which

looking about necessary before the exact

spot was found.

After days passed in flying about the garden

up Bean

Street

time again

going

and down Onion Avenue, time and

one would think that any formal study

of the precise locality of a nest might be omitted; but it

was not so with our wasps.

and detailed studies

They made

repeated

of the surroundings of their nests.

281

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

Moreover, when their prey was laid down for a moment

on the way home, they

felt

the necessity of noting the

place carefully before leaving

Of

it.

the species that catch their prey before

the nest

we have good examples and

tatus, the tornado wasp,

in

making

Pompilus quinqueno-

fuscipennis, the

Pompilus

with the red girdle.

The tornado wasp may make one

to ten feet

her nest anywhere from

from the spot on which she has deposited

her spider, while fuscipennis never goes more than fourteen inches away.

During the process of excavation

both of these wasps pay several

visits to

the spider,

frequently they have difficulty in finding

ample of

this

it.

As an

and ex-

kind of trouble we give a diagram of the

course followed by an individual of fuscipennis after

she had finished her nest, in trying to find her spider

and

in bringing

it

This and the other similar

home.

diagrams that are given are reductions of large tracings that were

made on

the spot.

correct they are exact

since wherever there

direction of

making shorter and appear

The

enough is

for all practical purposes,

an error

it is

necessarily in the

the path pursued

complex than

less

lay

by the wasp it

really was.

had placed her spider on a on the ground, not hidden by

individual in question

cucumber vine which

Although not absolutely

282

SENSE OF DIRECTION leaves, but fully

The

exposed to view.

when

eight inches away, but

was

it

was only

nest

finished

and the

COURSE FOLLOWED BY POMPILUS FUSCIPENNIS IN

HER SPIDER AND

FINDING

RETRACING HER STEPS TO THE NEST

wasp went

to bring the spider, she

a search of three minutes 1

The

ground

nest being completed, the as indicated

by the

it

it

upon a

to the nest.

283

it

only after

wasp went skimming over the the spider, which leaf,

some distance beyond the nest

place she took

1

and then when she went

line, until

ously been stung and placed

dragged

;

found

IN

was found.

to the point

2,

had

previ-

She then from which

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL back

passed to one side and went

to the nest she at first

some inches beyond,

had

so that she

her

to retrace

steps.

Marchal notes that some wasps are very in finding their

way

about, showing by their errors and

hesitations not only that they have

no sense of

but that they are badly served by their

what senses they have. his

own

He

draws

Pompilus seriaceus, which in the walls of the rustic

direction,

memory and by

this conclusion

observations, one of which

for a laboratory.

unskillful

had

for

its

from

subject

nests, conveniently for

him,

summer-house which he uses

A wasp of

this species,

having caught

her spider, had a most wearisome experience in getting to the nest,

it

which had been previously excavated near She

the ground.

first

carried

it

straight up, not only

passing the opening, but going to the very top of the Realizing that she had gone wrong, she laid

wall.

down, and the right

after

and

it

a prolonged hunt up and down, to

to the left,

found the nest

;

but on leav-

again to go for the spider, she started in exactly

ing

it

the

wrong

direction,

forty minutes for spider

and

down

instead of up;

had been spent

and not

until

in searching alternately

for nest did she finally bring the

two

together.

The

best evidence that wasps depend

284

upon a know-

SENSE OF DIRECTION ledge of the place in returning to their nests the pains they take

to.

is

given by

acquire that knowledge.

Sphex ichneumonea was ready

When

to dig her nest, she

great difficulty in finding a place that suited her.

had

Many

a spot was merely looked at and passed by, while others that

seemed more

were

attractive

been excavated for a

little

way.

left

At

after they

last,

had

the nest dug,

she was ready to go out and seek for her store of pro-

and now came a most thorough and systematic study of the surroundings. The nests that had been partly made and then deserted had been left without visions

any

;

circling.

Evidently she was conscious of the

ence and meant, now, to take

She flew

against losing her way. plants, first in

narrow

all

circles

ground, and

now

higher in the

air, until at last

in wider

differ-

necessary precautions in

and out among the

near the surface of the

and wider ones as she rose she took a straight line and

disappeared in the distance.

Very

often, after

one

thorough study of the topography of her home has been

made, a wasp goes away a second time with much circling or with If the

none

at

less

all.

examination of the objects about the nest

makes no impression upon the wasp, or

if it is

not re-

membered, she ought not to be inconvenienced nor thrown off her track when weeds and stones are removed 285

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL and the surface

her

ground

what happens.

this is just lost

of the

it,

fasciatus entirely

off the leaf that

without trouble,

when

covered

the missing

All of the species of Cerceris were

object was replaced. if

extremely annoyed

smoothed over; but

Aporus

way when we broke

her nest, but found

is

their nesting-places.

we placed any new object near One Ammophila refused to make we had drawn some deep lines The same annoyance is exhibited

use of her burrow after in the dust before

when

there

is

it.

any change made near the spot upon

which the prey of the wasp, whatever it may be, is deposited temporarily. We learned from experience how important

was not

it

on such occasions.

to disarrange the grass or plants

The wasps

are in

many

cases so

prudent as to conceal their booty among the leaves and ;

this

made

it

very inconvenient to keep our eyes upon

the captured prey, as to follow

on

it

was

quite necessary

To

its travels.

if

we wished

avoid the discomfort of

lying on the ground or of twisting the neck at some impossible angle for half an hour at a time, we sometimes

gently

moved

even such a tience, as it

it

the intercepting objects to one side

slight

;

but

change cost us dear in time and pa-

threw the wasp out of her bearings and made

difficult for

her to recover her treasure.

one exceedingly

warm day

in

286

We

recall

September when we were

SENSE OF DIRECTION delayed in this

when

for forty minutes,

way

she would

have seized the spider and gone on her way without a pause had we not interfered.

Very often the wind would shake the plant so that the spider or caterpillar would fall to the ground. Under

wasp was not at all disconcerted, but, on not finding her prey where she had left it, dropped

these circumstances the

at

once to where

it

was

This

lying.

extension of their ordinary habits. spiders learns to follow

A

wasp

that takes

them as they drop from the web

In

on being disturbed.

probably only an

is

this they are evidently

guided

by sight, but perhaps they are also aided by the sense of smell

under other conditions,

of recognizing the place

With

so

much

selection

to build

may have

a long time over

unknown

sense

of the daily

life

upon which

upon,

it is

their prey has lain.

easy to see

perfected the habit.

details,

is

to the extent, at least,

but

we

how

natural

We are delaying

feel that to

invoke an

permissible only after a careful study

of the animals in question has left the

problem unsolved.

Among

the wasps that

first

make

provision the larder, Astata bicolor interesting.

is

and then

one of the most

She makes a permanent abiding-place,

and probably uses is

the nest

it

until all of her eggs are laid.

evident that since she comes and goes

287

many

It

times

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

during the several weeks of her occupation, she does not need to

make

a prolonged study of the environment

at every departure. is

completed,

when

she

is

first

Her

first

survey, just after the nest

most thorough; and, as a usual

thing,

comes out on each succeeding morning,

she reviews the situation more or less carefully. viduals differ in this respect, however, their local habitat

much more than

Indi-

some studying In

others.

this as

well as in all other matters

our

observations

are in complete accord

with those of Sir John

Lubbock,

who

"Indeed,

many

experiences

says

:

of

my

seem

to

show not only a

differ-

ence of character in the LOCALITY STUDY OF ASTATA BICOLOR

different species of ants,

but that even within the limits of the same species 1

The wasp

then to

2,

flew

from nest

to

I,

paused a moment, then flew back;

paused and flew back then to ;

and flew back to nest and flew back

;

flew to 4,

5, 6, 7, 8,

paused, then to 9,

pausing

at

to nest along 10; flew, successively, along

13, resting at the spots designated;

in direction of

3,

and

from 13 she

arrow points and departed.

288

circled

4,

paused

each spot,

n,

12

and

around nest

SENSE OF DIRECTION there are individual differences between ants, just as 1

between men."

This

little

bug-hunting Astata bicolor

study in a different first

made her

way from Sphex ichneumonea. She

flew from the nest

to a spot

near by and

settled there, returning,

after a

moment,

nest, or

else

to the

flying to

another resting-place. After

pausing

number

of

a

in

places (in

the case of the one fol-

lowed in the diagram, thirteen),

she finished

by a rapid zigzag

LOCALITY STUDY OF ASTATA UNI-

flight.

COLOR 2

Another wasp of

this

from bicolor in not returning genus, unicolor, differed the

to

1

2

nest

Ants, Bees,

from the and Wasps,

The continuous

line

different resting-places,

and

in

p. 95.

shows the course walked over by the

wasp, the short marks at right angles representing resting-places; the broken line indicates

flight.

Line

i

shows the

first

study, lead-

line 2 the second, ending in flight and ing back to the nest, and

departure.

289

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

walking from one to another of them instead of although the

last part of the

study was

flying,

made on

the

wing. Cerceris deserta

was one

strongly to our presence,

of the

and she

of fuss about leaving her nest. circle

before

wasps that objected

also

made

Nearly

a great deal

all

the species

leaving a spot to which they intend to

return, but deserta begins her flight with a series of

SECOND LOCALITY STUDY OF

A.

UNICOLOR

!

short zigzags in the form of a half circle on one side of the nest.

C. nigrescens, too, begins with semicircles,

while C. clypeata 1

The continuous

the short

marks

flies

line

entirely

around and around the

shows the course walked over by the wasp

at a right angle indicate resting-places

line indicates flight.

290

;

;

the broken

SENSE OF DIRECTION opening.

The

contrast between the deliberate

ments of Astata and the rapid

move-

flight of Cerceris is

very

striking.

We

have now given a

sufficient

from widely separated genera,

to

number

of instances,

show the care

that

is

taken by wasps to acquaint themselves with the surroundings of their nests.

It

has also been shown that

in spite of all this care they frequently

rinding their

way

about.

have trouble in

All these facts have led us to

conclude that wasps are guided in their their

memory

of localities.

movements by

They go from

place to place

quite readily because they are familiar with the details of the landscape in the district they inhabit. sight all

and a moderately good memory on

that need be

the problem.

assumed

Fair eye-

their part are

in this simple explanation of

Chapter XIII INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE

OUR

study of the activities of wasps has satisfied

us that

The

simple way.

and ants were tenable,

view.

it is

all

impracticable to classify them in any

old notion that the acts of bees, wasps,

varying forms of instinct

and must give way

It

would appear

to

is

no longer

a more philosophical

to

be quite certain that there

are not only instinctive acts but acts of intelligence as well,

due

and a

third variety also

to imitation, although

telligence ficult to

accompanies

determine.

one species

may be

this imitation is

amount

dividuals

such of

of

difficulty in

wasps

admittedly

intelligent in another, is

dif-

same

and we may

a considerable variation in

of intelligence displayed

the

little in-

Again, acts that are instinctive in

even assert that there the

acts that are probably

whether much or

species.

We

by

different in-

have met with

our attempts to arrange the

in different groups that

we

activities

are forced to the

conclusion that any scheme of classification

is

merely

a convenience, useful for purposes of study or generali292

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE zation, but not to be taken for

pression of

all

the facts.

This kind of perplexity

understood and allowed for in but

it

The

an absolutely true is

ex-

well

morphological work,

all

has never been fully realized in the study of habits.

explanation

The

not far to seek.

is

habits of but

few animals have been studied in

sufficient detail to

bring out the evidence that there

as

on the psychological although this

field

as

is

much

variation

on the morphological

side,

seems fresh and inviting when com-

pared with the researches of the laboratory.

The

necessity of interpreting the actions of animals

in terms of our us.

To

own

interpret

consciousness must be always with

them

at all

we must

consider what our

own mental states would be under similar circumstances, our safeguard being to keep always before us the pro-

weakening of the evidence as we apply it to animals whose structure is less and less like our own.

gressive

We

arrange the

activities of the

wasps that we have

studied into two groups, Instincts, and Acts of Intelligence,

it

being understood that these classes pass by

insensible stages into each other,

are purely instinctive are probably in experience. is

In

and that

when performed

acts that

for the first time

some degree modified by individual

this classification the question of origin

not considered.

The

facts are

293

grouped under the

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

two heads, the inferences that they warrant being

Under

for later consideration.

place

all

complex

acts that are

left

we

the term Instinct

performed previous to

experience and in a similar manner by all members the same sex and race, leaving out as non-essential, this time, the question of

Under

Intelligence

place those conscious actions which are

an

at

whether they are or are not

accompanied by consciousness.

modifiable by experience.

of

It is

this

more or

we less

that enables

power

to decline to

insect to seek, accept, refuse, choose,

make

use of this or to turn to account some other thing.

Many

writers prefer the term Adaptation for these ac-

tivities,

and

it

definitions in

possesses certain advantages.

mind,

let

With

these

us group the activities of wasps

under the two heads.

With sent

the wasps of the genus Pelopaeus

we were

pre-

on several occasions when the young emerged from

pupa case and gnawed their way out of the mud cell. They were limp, and their wings had not perfectly the

hardened, and yet

when we touched them they

tried to

attack us, thrusting out the sting and moving the abdo-

men about

in various directions.

These movements

were well directed, and, so far as we could observe, quite as perfect as in the adult wasp. is

an

instinctive act.

294

Stinging, then,

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE The

particular

method

of attack

by each species in securing

ticed

its

and capture pracprey

is

instinctive.

Ammophila pricks a number of ganglia

along the ventral face of the

caterpillar;

the spider

stabs

we

Pelopaeus,

in the

believe,

cephalo-

thorax, and probably the several species of Pompilus do the same.

Astata bicolor adopts the same tactics in is

capturing her bugs, while

it

said of the flycatchers that they

commonly overcome

their victims

without using the sting. too, that these

stinct,

their

proper

worms, flies,

food

another

It is

by

wasps take

supply,

spiders,

moths., or beetles.

in-

a

one PARALYZED third

So Strong

SPIDER

HUNG

UP ON SORREL BY QUIN-

QUENOTATUS WHILE SHE

HER NEST

DIGS

and deeply seated is the preference, that no fly robber ever takes spiders, nor will the ravisher of the spiders change to beetles or bugs.

The mode

of carrying their booty

is

a true instinct.

Pompilus takes hold of her spider anywhere, but always drags

it

over the ground, walking backward; Oxybelus

clasps her fly with the hind legs, while

Bembex

uses the

second pair to hold hers tightly against the under side 295

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL Each works

of her thorax. in a

that

way The capturing

the hole

is

is

after her

own

of the victim

made, as

and caring

for

Bembex, and

also the

Ammophila,

others, of preparing the nest before the is

way

secured,

in

is

certainly instinctive

For example,

before dragging is

it

in.

Under natural

mands.

Again,

we

see

nest while on the wing,

of the species,

when

and entering

occasion de-

is

characteristic

and would be an important part

upon

its

of

any

habits.

general style of the nest depends upon instinct.

Trypoxylon uses hollow passages

in trees, posts, straws,

or brick walls; Diodontus americanus, a

bex,

right

once with the

at

Each way

definition of the animal based

same

all is

conditions this

Oxybelus scratching open her

held tightly in her legs.

The

S. ichneu-

never varied, although the wasp can adapt

herself to different circumstances

fly

is

after

places her grasshopper just at the entrance to

the excavation, and then enters to see that

order

as

;

which some of these wasps act

bringing the prey to the nest.

monea

before

it

in the case of P. quinquenotatus, or

the reverse method, pursued by Astata,

food supply

and

fashion,

uniform for each species.

member

family, always burrows in the ground, as

Ammophila, and Sphex. In the case

the passage

may be

ready for use or

296

of

may

of the

do Bem-

Trypoxylon

require

more

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE or less preparation

;

the instinctive part

is

the impulse

that requires the insect to use a certain kind of habi-

Any one

tation.

familiar with T. rubrocinctum

would

never look for her nest in standing stems or under stones; to use to bet

Mr. Morgan's

on the general

test,

he would be willing

style of the dwelling-place.

All of

these acts are similarly performed by individuals of the

same sex and in the

race, not in circumstantial detail but quite

same way

in a

broad sense. Variation

is

always

present, but the tendency to depart from a certain type

not excessive.

is

this style of

In Cerceris the burrow

work being common

genus, and very characteristic.

to

many

No

phila constructs any such tunnel. all

the

tecture

The

members is,

then,

is

tortuous,

species in the

Sphex nor

Ammo-

The adherence

of

of a species to a certain style of archi-

due

to instinct.

spinning of the cocoon, in those species in which

the larva

is

instinctive.

protected in this manner, and

We

its

shape, are

find that closely allied species in the

same genus make very different cocoons, as is seen in T. rubrocinctum and T. bidentatum. Some wasps spin It is a well-known no such covering for themselves. fact that silkworms sometimes omit the spinning of a

cocoon

;

but this does not affect the argument, since

the descendants of these individuals

297

make

the charac-

WASPS, SOCIAL teristic covering.

AND SOLITARY

Such cases are probably due

to indi-

vidual variation or perhaps to atavism, this throwing

back being not uncommon among forms that are well

known.

Not

of the instinctive acts here

all

enumerated are

displayed by each species studied, although they are

common to most some

of them.

activities that

We have doubtless overlooked

should come under this head, as

made a thorough study of any sufficient species to make a final settlement of the

we have

not

number

of

matter.

As we have seen with Ammophila and faults of instinct are not

uncommon, but

the one that shows the greatest aberrations

The sandy beach

biguttatus.

of

Pelopaeus,

of all our is

Lake Michigan

favorite nesting-ground with this species, and

scene of cipled

is

is

a

the

a bold robbery, since they are unprin-

many

little

wasps

Pompilus

wretches and

"...

the good old rule

Sufficeth them, the simple plan

That they should take who have the power

And

We

they should keep

who

can."

once found an unusually tiny biguttatus vainly

trying to drag a large Epeirid which her sting

duced

to helplessness.

It

was as though a 298

had

re-

feeble child

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE should try to

move

the body of an elephant.

The

little

wasp clasped one of the spider's legs firmly in her mandibles, and then with braced feet and the wildest flutter

made

of wings

gallant but futile attempts to get

it

Now she lost her hold on the ground, and wings legs were all whirling desperately in the air. Now

started.

and

her feet grasped a loose ball of earth, and, feeling that

something was moving, she renewed her pellet

was drawn nearer and began

The

efforts.

to rotate

around

the wasp, while she seemed to be under the impression that she

was moving forward.

After a few minutes of

vigorous exercise, she paused, perhaps to see

was getting that

when

on,

and the

the attack

bit of earth rolled

was renewed,

discouraging conditions.

it

how

she

away; so

was under the old

She was the impersonation of

perseverance and energy; but after half an hour (no

one knows how long she had been she gave

away.

It

it

up, and with

many

at

it

before

we came)

reluctant circlings flew

was probably experiences

of this kind that

developed in some of her relatives the habit of digging the grave under the victim,

and thus saving the trouble

of transportation.

At another time, we saw a biguttatus trying

backward with a lifted

little bit

of a spider,

to

run

which she had

from the ground and was carrying

in her

man

299

\

AND SOLITARY

WASPS, SOCIAL

dibles,-- trying to run backward, because

with this genus to move in that with a load,

it

backward, although in while she

felt

way when encumbered

The wasp in question Instinct made her go

series of

this particular case

it

was need-

a constant desire to turn and go

As a

straight ahead.

sand in a

the rule

being easier to drag a heavy spider than

to pick it up and go forward. was drawn in two directions.

less,

it is

result she waltzed slowly over the

overlapping

circles,

her head turned

toward every point of the compass in succession, a kind of progress

most amusing

Biguttatus

but

it is

to the lookers-on.

not strong enough to

is

fly

when

the top of every obstacle in the path,

and from

vantage point to gain time by taking a downward in the direction of the nest. tall,

laden,

the habit of the species to climb backwards to

It is

this

flight

only in the case of

smooth-stemmed plants and grasses that the ad-

vantage gained

is

enough

to repay the trouble of climbing,

and we have often thought that the notion costs the wasp more trouble than it is worth, as was certainly the case with one comical the extreme of

little

folly.

creature that carried the idea to

Not only did she

her way, but just as old Dr. Johnson to

scale objects in felt

that he

had

touch every tree and post as he walked along, so

when

this

wasp saw, out

of the corner of her eye, a

300

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE stone or a plant three or four inches to one side,

upon her

to climb,

and climb she

obviously more

than of

intelligence

called

was

did, although she

obliged to leave her proper path to do It is

it

it.

difficult to distinguish actions of

instinct.

One must be

familiar with

the normal conditions of the insects in question before

he

is

able to note those slight changes in the environ-

ment that

means

offer

some opportunity

to ends, or before

periments which will

We

find

two

he

is

test their

for

an adaptation of

competent

powers in

to devise ex-

this direction.

classes of intelligent actions

Hymenoptera which are

among

sufficiently distinct to

sidered separately, although, like

they grade into each other.

The

natural groups,

all

first

the

be con-

of these includes

those actions that are performed by large

numbers

in

a

similar fashion under like conditions, while in the sec-

ond

class

each act

is

an individual

single wasp, uninfluenced in

of those about

it,

affair,

any way

as where a

by the example

displays unusual intelligence in grap-

pling with the affairs of

life.

Examples

of the

first

are found in such modifications of instinct as are

by Pelopaeus and other wasps habitations. trees or

class

shown

in the character of their

Pelopaeus, instead of

building in hollow

under shelving rocks, as was the ancient custom

of the race,

now

nests in chimneys, or under the eaves

301

WASPS, SOCIAL

We

of buildings.

AND SOLITARY

have found T. rubrocinctum taking

advantage of the face of a straw-stack that had been cut off smoothly as the cattle were fed through the winter.

The same power

of adaptation

shown by Fabre's

is

experiment with Osmia, in which he took two dozen nests in shells

from a quarry, where the bees had been

nesting for centuries, and placed

them

in his study

along with some empty shells and some hollow stems.

When them

came

the bees

out, in the spring, nearly all of

selected the stalks to build in as being better suited

to their use

than the

intelligent adaptations

to

keep the species in

The same

All of these changes are

shells.

new modes

to

harmony with

of

its

life,

serving

surroundings.

may

be seen when a number of social

wasps work together

to replace the roof of their nest

when

An

it

thing

has been torn

off.

instance of the second class

examples of

is

Pompilus marginatus.

searching for a nesting-place, leaves the ground or hides of

it

;

the

of her tribe

hanging

it

wasp by

its

species, while

spider lying on

under a lump of earth,

which positions the booty

of ants

seen in one of our

This

in question

is

in either

subject to the attacks

improved upon the custom

up into a plant and have now and then seen a queen

carrying the spider

there.

We

of Polistes fusca occupy a

comb

302

of the previous year

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE instead of building a

new one

equipment than her

better mental

showing a

for herself, sisters

who were

not

strong-minded enough to change their ways, and so built

new in

which were

nests alongside of unoccupied old ones

good condition.

Bembex

In

it is

society

good form

to close the door on leaving home, but sometimes a

wasp

will save is

however,

time by leaving the entrance open. This,

a doubtful case, as the advantage would,

perhaps, be more than balanced by the exposure of the nest to parasites.

Some

years after our

scelestuswe saw a wasp

home.

She dropped

meditatively,

first at

first

experience with Pompilus

of this species carrying her spider close to the nest,

it

and looked

the hole and then at the spider. It

was unquestionably going to be a very tight fit, but if she could get it in that would be an advantage; so after a

moment

she seized

backing down

it

by the

tried to pull

would not go down, and carried

it

blossoms.

and took

it

tip of the

after.

Tug

scelestus

to a place of safety

-

abdomen and -

pushed

tug it

I

No,

it

out and

up among some clover

She then washed and brushed herself neatly, several

little

w alks, r

so that

it

was

minutes before she began to enlarge her time she must have carried in her

little

fully fifteen

nest.

All that

scrap of a

mind

the idea of doing a necessary act which was outside of

303

WASPS, SOCIAL her ordinary routine

;

AND SOLITARY

and we noted with

interest that the

was made accomplished exactly what the spider went in, but not too easily.

change when

it

was needed,

In an experiment with a French Sphex which has

down

the habit of laying her cricket

and going Fabre

inside for

an instant before dragging

took advantage of the

was out

of sight

at the threshold,

below

to

tance, with the result that

moment

that the

left it

while she visited the interior of the nest.

repeated this

in,

wasp

move her prey to a little diswhen the wasp came up she

brought her cricket to the same spot and fore,

it

as be-

Since he

experiment about forty times and always

with the same

result,

it

seemed

clusion that nothing less

fair to

draw the con-

than the performance of a

certain series of acts in a certain order

would

satisfy

her impulse. She must place her prey just so close to the

doorway; she must then descend

and

after that

she must

at

to

once drag

examine the nest; it

down, any

dis-

turbance of this routine causing her to refuse to proceed.

We

once found a Sphex ichneumonea at work storing

her nest, and thought

it

would be

interesting to pursue

Fabre's method and find out whether she were equally persistent in following her regular routine.

We

allowed

her to carry in one grasshopper to establish her normal

method

of procedure,

and found

34

that, bringing

it

on the

INSTINCT AND INTELLIGENCE wing, she dropped nest, out

it

about

six inches

away, ran into the

again and over to the grasshopper, which she

straddled and carried by the head to the entrance.

She then ran down head

first,

turned around, came up,

by the head, pulled it within. On the following day, when she had brought a grasshopper to the entrance of the nest, and while she was below, we

and

moved

it

back

she carried

We

it

seizing

it

five or six inches.

When

she

came

out,

same spot and went down as before. again, with the same result, and the

to the

removed

it

performance was repeated a third and a fourth time, but the

fifth

had placed

time that she had found her prey where

it

she seized

ward dragged

On

it

down

it

by the head, and going back-

into the nest without pausing.

the next day the experiment

we had moved carried

it

we

the grasshopper

into the nest, going

w as r

After

repeated.

away four

times, she

head foremost.

On

the

fourth and last day of our experiment, she replaced the

grasshopper at the door of the nest and ran inside seven times, but then seized

ward.

How

shall

it

this

and dragged

it

in,

going back-

change in a long-established

custom be explained, except by saying that her

intelli-

gence led her to adapt herself to circumstances?

She

was enough of a conservative to prefer the old way, but was not such a slave to custom as to be unable to vary it. 305

WASPS, SOCIAL

AND SOLITARY

"It hath been an opinion," says Lord Bacon, "that the French are wiser than they seem, while the Spaniards

seem wiser than they to determine

are."

We

leave

it

to

our readers

whether the wasps are wiser than they

seem or seem wiser than they

are.

INDEX

INDEX AGENIA, mutilation

of

Thomas, on locality study of Polistes carnifex, 60. Bembex labiatus, note on locality sense by Bouvier, 124. rostrata, account of habits

Belt,

spiders,

243* 2 47-'

bombycina, 244.

Ammophila, 1 5 stinging habits of American and French species, ;

28

;

Fabre's conclusions

by Wesenberg, 139; note on locality sense by Marchand,

con-

trasted with ours, 52 sleeping habits noted by Banks, 1 1 7. over distance gracilis, great ;

which prey

is

46

carried,

;

125.

less spinolae, 119; S A.

;

of instinct, 46. -

numerous

progeny than other wasps, 120 habit of feeding young from

failure

quarrelsome day to day, 120 habits, 129; tolerance of paraof parasitic number sites, 132; larvae found in nests, 133; experiment to determine number of nests visited by female at one

polita, 50.

;

urnaria, 18; sense of locality,

20 individuality, 22; using a pebble as a tool, 38. vulgaris, losing her way, 46. yarrowii, Williston's notes on * ;

time, 139; teasing 262.

habits, 40.

Aphilanthops frigidus, 167;

los-

Tachysphex,

Bouvier, note on locality sense of

ing her way, 171; method of capturing queen ants uncertain,

Bembex

labiatus, 124.

Brehm, on mutilation of spiders habit of by Agenia punctata, 243. Aporus fasciatus, 80 Brues, on sleeping habits of Priofilling up partly made nests, close 82 packnonyx atrata, 118. depends upon ing to keep spider quiet, 83 contrast betw een two individ- Cerceris clypeata, 147 locality experiments on study, 149 uals, 84. Ash mead, W. H., on European stinging habits, 151. 174.

;

;

;

r

;

;

species of Oxybelus, 78. Astata bicolor, locality study, 288.

-deserta, 152; locality study, 153-

fumipennis, 142.

unicolor, locality study, 290.

nigrescens, 142. '

Banks,

Nathan, observation

sleeping habits of

on

Ceropales,

Ammophila,

117.

Bates, H. W., on habits of

following

Pompilus

scelestus, 231.

Chlorion coeruleum, 256.

Mone- Crabro

interruptus, 102; locality study, 105.

dula signata, 136.

39

INDEX Crabro lentus, 101 both flies and bugs found in nests, 101. sexmaculatus, 99 takes both ;

Odynerus perennis, 90.

;

and gnats,

flies

101.

106

stirpicola,

;

contrasted

with other wasps as to manner, 1 06; works night and day to finish nest, 108.

wesmasli, said to take both

and bugs,

flies

89.

reniformis, position of egg,

vagus, wanness, 94. Oxybelus quadrinotatus, 75; method of carrying fly, 80.

Passolocus annulatus, 87. Pelopaeus, 265 individuality, 270 ;

101.

271

forgetfulness,

;

;

difference

between French and American Dunning,

W., on finding

S.

alive in nests of

Bembex,

flies

135.*

species, 273.

Philanthus apivorus, sucks honey

from bee, Fabre,

H.,

on

automatically perfect instincts of Ammophila, on French species of 52 on the habits of Sphex, 69 on Philanthus Bembex, 134 162 on French apivorus, J.

;

;

;

;

ventilabris, 166.

;

;

species of Pelopaeus, 273.

162.

habits of punctatus, 1 54 experiments on colony, 1 56 stinging habits, 162; nesting habits of males, 166.

Plenolocus peckhamii, 95 invaded by bees and

;

stalk

other

wasps, 96.

Goureau, on mutilation of spiders by w asps, 244. r

Polistes

carnifex,

locality study

noted by Belt, 60. Pompilus biguttatus, unreasoning

Larra quebecensis, 263. Sir John, on individu-

conduct, 298.

ality in ants, 288. Lyroda subita, 253; feeds her young from day to day, 255.

ants, 219; biting legs of spider, 220 sense of locality, 221.

Marchal, Paul, on poor locality sense of Pompilus seriaceus,

nest, 229.

Lubbock,

fuscipennis, 216; ;

quinquenotatus, 197; confined to one species of spider, nest invaded by small 202

Marchand, observation on

Bembex

locality rostrata, 125.

;

202 hangs spider on plant while nest is being made, 204; robs her neighbors, 211: loses her way, 214. bites legs of scelestus, 230 ants,

Monedula

signata, locality study noted by Bates, 136. Mutilation of spiders by wasps, 243-

variation

in

anormis, position

sites,

of egg in

nest, 91.

capra, 94.

conformis, position of

egg,

230

;

pursued by para-

231 sleeping habits, 236. seriaceus, poor locality sense noted by Marchal, 284. subviolaceus, following sce-

nesting

habits, 95.

-

;

;

spider,

Odynerus,

of

marginatus, 221; capturing spider, 225; method of digging

284.

sense of

afraid

;

lestus, 236. atrata,

Priononyx

ing habits,

91.

310

1 1

8.

note on sleep-

INDEX Rhopalum

pedicellatum, 73 strong power of localization, ;

Trypoxylon, immense numbers of spiders destroyed, 195. -

albopilosum, 190. bidentatum, 194. rubrocinctum, 180;

73-

rubrocinctum, 74. Social wasps, general habits, 3 color sense, 5 sense of smell, 8 affecting plant distribution, 1 1 number in one nest, 12. Solitary wasps, general habits, 1 5. Sphex, habits noted by Fabre, ;

;

;

;

69.

ichneumonea, 56 nests begun and deserted, 56; locality

protec-

tion of nest

by male, 181

sometimes

assists

nest, 182; order in hatch, 1 80.

Vespa germanica,

in

;

male

storing

which eggs

13.

- maculata, 13.

;

study, 58

;

Tachysphex Tachytes

sp.

intelligence, 305. tarsata, 261. ?,

248.

peptonica, 252.

Wesenberg, on habits of Bembex rostrata, 139. Wheeler, W. M.,on capture of ants by Aphilanthops f rigidus, 1 76. Williston, S. W., on habits of

Ammophila

yarrowii, 40.

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