antennæ.

8:26. Quiet except that it spread its wings once.

8:27. Still on neck of bottle. Moved its head and antennæ back and forth.

8:28. Slight change in position. Antennæ were still waving. Rubbed its wings, spread them, and then rubbed them again.

8:29. Rubbed its hind legs together vigorously.

8:30. Spread wings once, then rubbed them and the abdomen with the hind legs. Rubbed the hind legs together, and finally rubbed the right wings vigorously.

8:31. Moved around some, occasionally stopping to rub the right wings.

8:32. Explored the neck of the bottle.

8:33. Same as 8:32. Cleaned antennæ.

8:34. Same as 8:33.

8:35. Stood still but continued to clean antennæ and front legs.

8:36. Climbed up and explored the cork of the bottle.

8:37-8:40. Stood still on the cork, occasionally moving its jaws.

At 8:40 the nest was placed against the cork and the wasp immediately crawled onto it, but seemed restless. As the nest has a faint, but distinct, odor of honey, it was probably attracted to it through the sense of smell.

The next morning the specimen was nowhere in sight, but forty-eight hours later it fell out of a loose-leaf binder that had been lying on the desk. It seemed to be as active as when seen two days before. Some time during the second night after the appearance of the first specimen, that is, when it was some thirty hours old, a second individual emerged. This one was discovered on a pile of books two feet from the nest where it had evidently crawled soon after emerging.

As soon as the first specimen was rediscovered, that is, when it was sixty hours old, the second wasp then being thirty hours old, the two were placed on the nest, and this in turn was placed on a book. They both started on tours of observation, and every time they came in contact with each other they made sudden starts and jumps to avoid an evidently startling new object, meanwhile violently waving their antennæ and often cleaning these organs after such contact. Dr. Enteman says, "All wasps possess the instinct of fear. This ... is readily overcome by the frequent appearance of the awe-inspiring object." This is true, because they were evidently on familiar terms with each other in half an hour, and paid very little attention to the frequent meetings which before had apparently distressed them. They wandered freely over their nest and the top surface of the book on which it was placed, but did not attempt to climb off the latter.

At 12 o'clock, four hours later, a third wasp had appeared, and none of the specimens seemed to be disturbed by the presence of the others. When the nest was first picked up, one cell containing a well formed pupa was uncapped. This specimen was then alive, but it may have been dead at the time of this observation. In either case, it had been dragged out of its cell, decapitated, and the front legs torn off. No trace of the head was found, but the body and legs were on the book about one inch from the nest. Whether this act was connected with the hunger of the wasps themselves or with the first development of the instinct of feeding the larvæ in the nest, which Miss Enteman says begins without imitation, is not clear.

At 2 p. m. (two hours later) the colony was placed out of doors, still on the book. Two of the wasps soon left the latter, and settled near it, keeping very quiet for half an hour. The third kept climbing over and around the nest. At 2:30 one of the two wasps returned to the nest.

At 3 p. m. two of the specimens were on the ground near the porch. They made only short flights, resembling jumps with the wings assisting, this being true even when they were disturbed. The third wasp was beside the colony, chewing on the decapitated pupa, probably getting some nourishment from it in the process.

During the afternoon the nest was disturbed, and at 6 p. m. all three specimens had gone from the porch. One was found wandering aimlessly on a canna leaf near by. It did not seem to be able to fly well. The other two had disappeared entirely.

The nest was saved and several days later a fourth wasp appeared. It was a very lively specimen, and spent the first few hours actively exploring the nest. It seemed of a very nervous disposition, being more easily disturbed than any of the others had been. Every time the nest was picked up, it would start for the fingers or forceps holding it. At one time it was observed with its whole body in a cell, head downward, evidently examining the interior. After staying close to the nest for a day, it began to fly around the floor of the room, paying no more attention to its former home. Even when it was placed on or near it, it would almost immediately crawl or fly away. Its flying was erratic, and seemed to lack power, but it got along much better than any of the other three had done.

From the above observations it would appear that the movements of the wasp recorded at one minute intervals after emergence from its cell were probably reactions due to the discomfort of the drying and hardening of the tissues. At first the wasps apparently had very little, if any, home instinct. The only things to indicate that they had any were the facts that the first specimen so readily left the cork on which it was sitting and went back to its nest when the latter was held near it, and the fourth wasp stayed on or near the nest for the first twelve hours. But all the specimens observed left the nest the first night and showed no intention or disposition to return. The presence of a second wasp seemed to bring the home instinct into existence more forcibly, as the first and second wasps stayed with the nest for six or seven hours when they were returned to it together, while the fourth one repeatedly left the empty nest almost at once when it was returned to it. But this instinct was seemingly not very strong, as they soon wandered away when placed out of doors. They seemed to have no idea as to how to carry on the work of the colony, but wandered aimlessly over it. Perhaps this was due to the fact that they were too young, as Miss Enteman says the development of the nursing instinct is usually manifested "any time after the first half day of imaginal life," but was observed in some neuters as young as four hours, while in others it was delayed for two weeks.

While the above observations are admittedly too few from which to draw definite conclusions, they seem to warrant the following assumptions, the first three of which are quoted from Miss Enteman, and hence are simply corroborative of her work: