At another time we saw one wasp attack another that was bringing in a fly. In the struggle that ensued the owner lost her booty, as the two rolled over and over on the ground, and as they parted it was seized by the thief. They clinched again, and rolled on the ground as before, and this time the fly was recovered by the rightful owner. At this point, thinking that perhaps one of the wasps was a male, and that this might be their style of courtship, we seized both of them; whereupon the fly was dropped, and the two wasps turned their attention to attacking us. Both proved to be females. Not only do the Bembecids fight in this way for the possession of their prey—they quarrel even without apparent cause. We have seen two females digging their nests at a little distance apart, one of which was repeatedly attacked by the other, although she did nothing to provoke the aggressor. They are certainly very unneighborly, and have no idea of living in harmony. When flying in a threatening manner, either at us or at each other, they have a way of wagging their abdomens violently from side to side in a way well calculated to inspire terror. In warm sunny weather spinolæ works industriously through the middle of the day, and seems determined to provide abundantly, not only for her own offspring, but for any unbidden guests that it may be her fate to care for. She never works more than four or five hours a day, however, and in unfavorable weather she does not work at all. On going over to the island one cloudy morning to spend some hours in watching the Bembex activities, we found the spot quiet and lifeless. No one seeing it for the first time would have dreamed of the multitudes of living creatures beneath his feet. The nests seemed to be all closed, but 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 is shown in the illustration. She seemed to be leaning on her elbows, and her face, enlivened by two great goggle eyes, had an irresistibly comical aspect. With the exception of the omnipresent flies, this wasp was the only sign of life about the place. Even in good weather, and in working 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. [Illustration: BEMBEX SPINOLÆ LOOKING OUT OF NEST] 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:— “The buzzing flies, a persevering train, Incessant swarm, and chased return again.”