ld it out towards it on the point of a stick. It seized it
immediately, and commenced biting it from head to tail, soon reducing
the soft body to a mass of pulp. It rolled up about one-half of it
into a ball, and prepared to carry it off. Being at the time amidst a
thick mass of a fine-leaved climbing plant, before flying away, he
took note of the place where it was leaving the other half. To do
this, it hovered in front of it for a few seconds, then took small
circles in front of it, then larger ones round the whole plant. I
thought it had gone, but it returned again, and had another look at
the opening in the dense foliage down which the other half of the
caterpillar lay. It then flew away, but must have left its burden for
distribution with its comrades at the nest, for it returned in less
than two minutes, and making one circle around the bush, descended to
the opening, alighted on a leaf, and ran inside. The green remnant of
the caterpillar was lying on another leaf inside, but not connected
with the one on which the wasp alighted, so that in running in it
missed it, and soon got hopelessly lost in the thick foliage. Coming
out again, it took another circle, and pounced down on the same spot
again, as soon as it came opposite to it. Three small seed-pods, which
here grew close together, formed the marks that I had myself taken to
note the place, and these the wasp seemed also to have taken as its
guide, for it flew directly down to them, and ran inside; but the
small leaf on which the fragment of caterpillar lay, not being
directly connected with any on the outside, it again missed it, and
again got far away from the object of its search. It then flew out
again, and the same process was repeated again and again. Always when
in circling round it came in sight of the seed-pods down it pounced,
alighted near them, and recommenced its quest on foot. I was surprised
at its perseverance, and thought it would have given up the search;
but not so, it returned at least half a dozen times, and seemed to get
angry, hurrying about with buzzing wings. At last it stumbled across
its prey, seized it eagerly, and as there was nothing more to come
back for, flew straight off to its nest, without taking any further
note of the locality. Such an action is not the result of blind
instinct, but of a thinking mind: and it is wonderful to see an insect
so differently constructed using a mental process similar to that of
man. It is suggest