As to the condition of the beetles stored by clypeata: in the first nest that we opened we found eight, seven of which were dead, while the eighth, which we had just seen stung several times, was alive, but died on the following day. The second nest gave us five beetles, all of them dead and dry. In the other nests that we opened we found nothing, though we knew that the beetles were there had we only been skillful enough to discover them.
Of Cerceris deserta, which closely resembles clypeata, but appears later in the season, we had only a single example. We chanced to see her dropping into a crevice among some lumps of earth, and at first could scarcely believe that this was the dwelling-place of a wasp, as there was nothing whatever about it to indicate a nest; and even after we had removed the rough pieces of earth above, we could see nothing of the loose material that must have been carried out.
She was much like clypeata in her manners, with the 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 more rapidly. Between nine and eleven o’clock one morning she brought in five loads, and some of the journeys occupied only ten minutes.
CERCERIS DESERTA: LOCALITY STUDY BEFORE LEAVING NEST
The first time that she found us sitting by her nest she circled about for nearly an hour, seeming unable to make up her mind to enter. At length we withdrew a little way, but still her suspicions were not entirely allayed; and after a further study of the situation she dropped, not into her own nest, but into a large cricket hole near by. Taken aback by this manœuvre, and thinking that perhaps we had a second individual to deal with, we stealthily approached, and peering in, could see the cricket inside, the wasp having slipped beyond. It 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 false nest and drop instantly into the true one. After a little she became quite accustomed to us, and entered her nest without the least delay.
The prey of deserta is held in the mandibles, and while we were watching her she did not support it with the second legs, even when flying.
Philanthus punctatus is a pretty little yellow-banded species much resembling Cerceris in appearance. The nest consists of a main gallery with pockets leading from it, each pocket being stored with one egg and enough bees to nourish a single larva. When the wasps emerge from the cocoon they find themselves in the company of their nearest relatives and in possession of a dwelling-place, and they all live together for a time before starting out independently to seek their fortunes. On the fifth of August we discovered on the island a happy family of this kind, consisting of three brothers and four sisters, the females, with their bright yellow faces and mandibles, 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 all fond of looking out, the doorway was too small to hold more than one at a time. The nest was opened in the morning at about nine o’clock, and during the next thirty or forty minutes their comical little faces would appear, one after another, each wasp enjoying the view for a few minutes with many twitchings of the head, and then retreating to make way for another, perhaps in response to some hint from behind. Then one by one they would come out, circle about the spot, and depart, sometimes leaving one of their number to keep house all day alone. They usually left the hole open; but when there was a wasp within, it was soon closed from below. During this playtime period they did not return until they were ready to settle down for the night, the first one coming home at half after two or three o’clock, and the others arriving at intervals, none of them staying out later than five. Most commonly they found the right spot without trouble, scratched open the hole, and then either closed 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 it.
We kept these wasps under close observation, often watching the nest from the moment it was opened in the morning until it was closed at night. On the twelfth of August, a week from the time that we first saw them, one of the females felt the responsibilities of life settling down upon her. At half after four in the afternoon she began to enlarge the nest, and worked with a great deal of energy for forty minutes. After a long disappearance within the hole she would come up backwards, kicking behind her a quantity of earth which was not only taken outside, but was then spread out far and wide. She worked with the front pair of legs, which were curved inward, after the manner of Bembex; and when a pebble or some such object came in her way she either dragged it to a distance with her mandibles or pushed it before her with her head in a way quite peculiar to herself. In distributing the earth that was taken out, she went five and one half inches from the nest—a distance which is much greater than is common among wasps, but which accords well with the habits of punctatus, since she continues the work of excavation from day to day.[ill157]