The females of Crabro, like those of other genera, seem to use their galleries as sleeping places, but the males stop at any convenient inn. We once entertained one of them for several nights in a hole in one of the posts of our cottage porch. Other males, as in Philanthus, spend time and care in digging a hole in the ground, to which they return night after night. In Agenia the female keeps one cell ahead of her needs, and tucks herself away in it very comfortably; but the Pelopæi, instead of making this use of their tubes, congregate in the evening where there are convenient crevices, and make as much fuss about getting settled as a lot of English sparrows. Mr. Banks has made a 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, and after a good many changes in position, fell sound asleep, clinging to the stems about one third of the way down. They registered at this hotel between seven and eight o’clock, and departed before five in the morning. We have seen a Pompilus take the greatest care in selecting a sheltered spot under some leaves, where she afterward hung herself up, and slept soundly until after eight the next day; 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 reporting finds in the shape of nests, and one day they returned from the island with a wonderful tale of great numbers of big wasps that were digging in the ground. “I don’t know what they are,” said the small boy, “but they act to me like the maddest kind of hornets.” With this attractive picture before us, we lost no time in going over to the spot, where we found a thriving colony of Bembex spinolæ. On our approach they fell upon us, “desire of blood, and rage, and lust of fight” in their mien, and chased us to a distance, but without inflicting a single wound. This temperance was not due to gentleness of disposition, but to the fact that Bembex is not at all handy with her sting, her body being too large and clumsy to curve and give the lightning stab as other 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 field would be tolerated.