In a single word: awful! Plenty of rain, should have been good. But, at the critical period, Feb.-May, unseasonal storms rolled across the desert, usually just a few days apart. They brought rain and wind. Many flowers bloomed, inspired no doubt, by the few warm days between storms. The Aculeata, on the other hand, seemed to know that something was not as it should be and didn't bother to show up. In mid-June, on another trip, my first night out I got rained on. Not a lot, but enough to be miserable. Three days later it was worse! Wet, cold, windy. I did luck-out and collect a few females of Euparagia boregoensis for Volker Mauss to rip apart. I just hope he appreciates what I went through to get them.

Ever the optimist, however, I am leaving tomorrow (20 Aug.) for southern Arizona, mainly to collect a presently undescribed species of Hesperapis (a really cute little critter) on prostrate Euphorbia (now Chamaesyce) in the Willcox area of Arizona. Even though that is a bee (or fuzzy wasp, if you care to look at it that way), I would expect to collect other things on the Chamaesyce as well, as part of the on-going project my son and I initiated a couple of years ago. This year, even the Chamaesyce collecting at our primary site in the Mojave Desert generated poor collecting. As an example, the first year, the little mutillid, Lomachaeta hicksi Mickel, was common and we got plenty of material of both sexes. This year, I found a few females, not a single male. About the only thing that seemed to be unchanged, was the chrysidids: they remained plentiful this year. So far, we have about 90 species of aculeates at the primary site most of which seem to be regular associates of the Chamaesyce. I'll be interested in seeing what results I get at a couple of sites in Arizona.

As my NSF grant continues, so do my trips to Africa. In 1995, I visited Zimbabwe (17 January through 25 February) and Zambia (25 February through 10 April), trying to collect additional material for my revision of African Tachysphex. Zimbabwe is especially important for the project, because George Arnold lived there and it was there that he wrote his revision of African Sphecidae. Visiting the type localities and collecting material there was therefore of primary importance.

Zimbabwe is a still poor but well organized country, with good roads, functioning public transportation, an excellent airline (Air Zimbabwe), and telephones that work. It also has an important museum: Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, with its very interesting exhibits. George Arnold was the Museum's curator and director prior to World War II. Shortly after Zimbabwe's independence, his collection was sent to the South African Museum, Cape Town, in exchange for two stone eagles, symbols of the nation, that were originally found in the Great Zimbabwe ruins. This transaction is still resented in Bulawayo. The remaining entomological collections include various insect orders. Material is well preserved, and is often loaned abroad for research purposes. Only a small fraction of Arnold's Sphecidae remains there, and many common species are not represented at all. The current Head of the Entomology Department, Mrs. Rudo Sithole, is now Acting Director of the Museum. Her ambition is to rebuild the collection, and her research interest is in Ammophila. She helped me organize my trip in more than one way. Among others, she authorized use of the Museum's field vehicle, and provided technical help to guide me into the field. Incidentally, Rudo means love in the Shona language, and her name fits her nice personality well.

The main problem in Zimbabwe was the ongoing several year drought. Thunderstorms were mainly local and could not compensate for evaporation. Large parts of the country were just parched. Philip Mhlanga, the museum technician and a superb collector, took me to various classic collecting places such as Khami ruins, Redbank and Sawmills, but we found few insects. The dry bed of the Khami River near Redbank, covered with flowering plants and teaming with insects, was an exception. We visited the place again a month later, only to find the river full of water and the insects all drowned. A supreme irony in a country suffering from the drought. Collecting was also very good 11 km east of Nyamandhlovu, on a sandy road going toward Sawmills. I then went to Victoria Falls on my own, and then to the Kariba area. Victoria Falls was more productive entomologically, and I could admire the majestic waterfall on the Zambezi. Niagara Falls is just a dwarf compared to the African giant that is 1700 m across and up to 100 m high. Walking in the bush on the city outskirts, I suddenly found myself facing an elephant. The animal looked surprised, raised his trunk, tusks and ears, and I felt very, very small and defenseless. I backed up and he walked into the bush. Subsequently, I felt rather insecure while following elephant tracks in various dry river beds near Kariba.

I then flew to Lusaka, Zambia, to meet Sandro Mochi, my traveling companion for several years, who was coming from Rome. We rented a car and went exploring the country. I felt immediately that Zambia was far behind Zimbabwe in its development. For example, making a phone call abroad was a major problem, and large sections of roads were just terrible, consisting mainly of potholes. There is a historical reason for that difference: during the colonial period, the British invested much more in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) than in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Our first target was Livingstone, the city on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. It took us 3 days to get there, and while traveling and while en route we stayed in small but adequate hotels in Kalomo and Choma. In spite of the drought, we found several sites where wasps and other insects were abundant, Livingstone was a big entomological disappointment, but I could contemplate the falls again. We went back to Lusaka, collecting all the time (sometimes only trying to collect and finding nothing), and the next target was The Wildlife Camp on the outskirts of South Luangwa National Park. We first headed east, finally stopping at Chipata (near the Malawian border) and then drove northeast on an unpaved road that would be practically impassable during the rainly season. We crossed the Luangwa River at a point from which we could see Mozambique, another exciting country. I knew the name of Luangwa before, as it is ofter cited in various papers by Rowland Turner, but I did not realize it was another big, spectacular river. The places where we spent nights were Kacholola (poor hotel, do not go there), Petauke, Sinda (hotel excellent), Katete, and Choma. The Wildlife Camp is efficiently run by a friendly couple (Ron is Australian, Anke is German), and I only wish I could have stayed there longer. You walk during the day from your cabin to the restaurant, and you see lion tracks. After sunset, you only drive these 500 meters to the restaurant, and you enjoy the view of hippopotamuses crossing the road. In the afternoon, you pin your insects on a veranda, and you see herds of antelopes, elephants and many birds just a few hundred meters away and down, on the Luangwa floodplain. The area must be what Roland Turner called Mid-Luangwa Valley in his papers, as it was a game reserve in the old days. After having spent three days at the Camp, we went back to Lusaka. Then we decided to revisit Kafue National Park, west of Lusaka. We only made it as far as Mumbwa because Sandro became ill. His condition was such that we returned to Lusaka for medical help. Sandro's condition unexpectedly worsened in Lusaka where he passed away before he could be flown home (see obituary on page 5).