These were important questions to us, and we were therefore greatly excited over our first hunt. One of the blue wasps came flying along, alighted on our cottage wall, and began her search, creeping into corners and cracks and investigating cottony lumps of web. In a few moments a small Epeira strix (the only species to be found on the cottage) was dislodged, and at once dropped to the floor of the porch. The wasp paid no further attention to it, but went on with her search. Three more spiders, one after the other, were disturbed and dropped to the floor without being followed. The fifth one discovered was a little larger than the others, and was seized by the jaws and first legs of the wasp before it had time to escape. It was then rolled into a ball, or at least so it appeared, and stung, then rolled a little more and stung again, and then carried off. We had scarcely drawn breath after this performance when a second wasp appeared. This one dislodged two spiders, and then caught a third, which was seized and stung without any rolling, and then instantly borne away. A third wasp seized the first spider that she found, and started on her flight at the same moment, stinging it on the wing. So the game went on, while we waxed warm with the excitement and fascination of the chase. As the hours went by some of the yellow mud–daubers appeared, adding to the interest of the scene, although we could not see that their method differed in the least from that of cœruleus. Rarely did they succeed in catching a spider until 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 her search on the wall. At the moment of capture we could see that she bent her abdomen under and inflicted a sting, but although we concentrated our attention on the point we could not be sure as to just what part was touched. It is our impression that this first sting was given anywhere, at 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 deliberation.