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diff --git a/2884-h/2884-h.htm b/2884-h/2884-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5dd3ae1 --- /dev/null +++ b/2884-h/2884-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7207 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Mason-bees, by J. Henri Fabre + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mason-bees, by J. Henri Fabre + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mason-bees + +Author: J. Henri Fabre + +Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos + +Release Date: December 25, 2008 [EBook #2884] +Last Updated: January 22, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASON-BEES *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE MASON-BEES + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By J. Henri Fabre + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated By Alexander Teixeira De Mattos + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. + </h2> + <p> + This volume contains all the essays on the Chalicodomae, or Mason-bees + proper, which so greatly enhance the interest of the early volumes of the + "Souvenirs entomologiques." I have also included an essay on the author's + Cats and one on Red Ants—the only study of Ants comprised in the + "Souvenirs"—both of which bear upon the sense of direction possessed + by the Bees. Those treating of the Osmiae, who are also Mason-Bees, + although not usually known by that name, will be found in a separate + volume, which I have called "Bramble-bees and Others" and in which I have + collected all that Fabre has written on such other Wild Bees as the + Megachiles, or Leaf-cutters, the Cotton-bees, the Resin-bees and the + Halicti. + </p> + <p> + The essays entitled "The Mason-bees, Experiments" and "Exchanging the + Nests" form the last three chapters of "Insect Life", translated by the + author of "Mademoiselle Mori" and published by Messrs. Macmillan, who, + with the greatest courtesy and kindness have given me their permission to + include a new translation of these chapters in the present volume. They + did so without fee or consideration of any kind, merely on my + representation that it would be a great pity if this uniform edition of + Fabre's Works should be rendered incomplete because certain essays formed + part of volumes of extracts previously published in this country. Their + generosity is almost unparalleled in my experience; and I wish to thank + them publicly for it in the name of the author, of the French publishers + and of the English and American publishers, as well as in my own. + </p> + <p> + Some of the chapters have appeared in England in the "Daily Mail", the + "Fortnightly Review" and the "English Review"; some in America in "Good + Housekeeping" and the "Youth's Companion"; others now see the light in + English for the first time. + </p> + <p> + I have again to thank Miss Frances Rodwell for the invaluable assistance + which she has given me in the work of translation and in the less + interesting and more tedious department of research. + </p> + <p> + ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS. + </p> + <p> + Chelsea, 1914. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Contents + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. </a> + </p> + <br /> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER 1. THE MASON-BEES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER 2. EXPERIMENTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER 3. EXCHANGING THE NESTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER 4. MORE ENQUIRIES INTO MASON-BEES. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER 5. THE STORY OF MY CATS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER 6. THE RED ANTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER 7. SOME REFLECTIONS UPON INSECT + PSYCHOLOGY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER 8. PARASITES. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER 9. THE THEORY OF PARASITISM. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER 10. THE TRIBULATIONS OF THE + MASON-BEE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER 11. THE LEUCOPSES. </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER 1. THE MASON-BEES. + </h2> + <p> + Reaumur (Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur (1683-1757), inventor of the + Reaumur thermometer and author of "Memoires pour servir a l'histoire + naturelle des insectes."—Translator's Note.) devoted one of his + papers to the story of the Chalicodoma of the Walls, whom he calls the + Mason-bee. I propose to go on with the story, to complete it and + especially to consider it from a point of view wholly neglected by that + eminent observer. And, first of all, I am tempted to tell how I made this + Bee's acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + It was when I first began to teach, about 1843. I had left the normal + school at Vaucluse some months before, with my diploma and all the simple + enthusiasm of my eighteen years, and had been sent to Carpentras, there to + manage the primary school attached to the college. It was a strange + school, upon my word, notwithstanding its pompous title of 'upper'; a sort + of huge cellar oozing with the perpetual damp engendered by a well backing + on it in the street outside. For light there was the open door, when the + weather permitted, and a narrow prison-window, with iron bars and lozenge + panes set in lead. By way of benches there was a plank fastened to the + wall all round the room, while in the middle was a chair bereft of its + straw, a black-board and a stick of chalk. + </p> + <p> + Morning and evening, at the sound of the bell, there came rushing in some + fifty young imps who, having shown themselves hopeless dunces with their + Cornelius Nepos, had been relegated, in the phrase of the day, to 'a few + good years of French.' Those who had found mensa too much for them came to + me to get a smattering of grammar. Children and strapping lads were there, + mixed up together, at very different educational stages, but all + incorrigibly agreed to play tricks upon the master, the boy master who was + no older than some of them, or even younger. + </p> + <p> + To the little ones I gave their first lessons in reading; the intermediate + ones I showed how they should hold their pen to write a few lines of + dictation on their knees; to the big ones I revealed the secrets of + fractions and even the mysteries of Euclid. And to keep this restless + crowd in order, to give each mind work in accordance with its strength, to + keep attention aroused and lastly to expel dullness from the gloomy room, + whose walls dripped melancholy even more than dampness, my one resource + was my tongue, my one weapon my stick of chalk. + </p> + <p> + For that matter, there was the same contempt in the other classes for all + that was not Latin or Greek. One instance will be enough to show how + things then stood with the teaching of physics, the science which occupies + so large a place to-day. The principal of the college was a first-rate + man, the worthy Abbe X., who, not caring to dispense beans and bacon + himself, had left the commissariat-department to a relative and had + undertaken to teach the boys physics. + </p> + <p> + Let us attend one of his lessons. The subject is the barometer. The + establishment happens to possess one, an old apparatus, covered with dust, + hanging on the wall beyond the reach of profane hands and bearing on its + face, in large letters, the words stormy, rain, fair. + </p> + <p> + 'The barometer,' says the good abbe, addressing his pupils, whom, in + patriarchal fashion, he calls by their Christian names, 'the barometer + tells us if the weather will be good or bad. You see the words written on + the face—stormy, rain—do you see, Bastien?' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, I see,' says Bastien, the most mischievous of the lot. + </p> + <p> + He has been looking through his book and knows more about the barometer + than his teacher does. + </p> + <p> + 'It consists,' the abbe continues, 'of a bent glass tube filled with + mercury, which rises and falls according to the weather. The shorter leg + of this tube is open; the other...the other...well, we'll see. Here, + Bastien, you're the tallest, get up on the chair and just feel with your + finger if the long leg is open or closed. I can't remember for certain.' + </p> + <p> + Bastien climbs on the chair, stands as high as he can on tip-toe and + fumbles with his finger at the top of the long column. Then, with a + discreet smile spreading under the silky hairs of his dawning moustache: + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' he says, 'that's it. The long leg is open at the top. There, I can + feel the hole.' + </p> + <p> + And Bastien, to confirm his mendacious statement, keeps wriggling his + forefinger at the top of the tube, while his fellow-conspirators suppress + their enjoyment as best they can. + </p> + <p> + 'That will do,' says the unconscious abbe. 'You can get down, Bastien. + Take a note of it, boys: the longer leg of the barometer is open; take a + note of it. It's a thing you might forget; I had forgotten it myself.' + </p> + <p> + Thus was physics taught. Things improved, however: a master came and came + to stay, one who knew that the long leg of the barometer is closed. I + myself secured tables on which my pupils were able to write instead of + scribbling on their knees; and, as my class was daily increasing in + numbers, it ended by being divided into two. As soon as I had an assistant + to look after the younger boys, things assumed a different aspect. + </p> + <p> + Among the subjects taught, one in particular appealed to both masters and + pupils. This was open-air geometry, practical surveying. The college had + none of the necessary outfit; but, with my fat pay—seven hundred + francs a year, if you please!—I could not hesitate over the expense. + A surveyor's chain and stakes, arrows, level, square and compass were + bought with my money. A microscopic graphometer, not much larger than the + palm of one's hand and costing perhaps five francs, was provided by the + establishment. There was no tripod to it; and I had one made. In short, my + equipment was complete. + </p> + <p> + And so, when May came, once every week we left the gloomy school-room for + the fields. It was a regular holiday. The boys disputed for the honour of + carrying the stakes, divided into bundles of three; and more than one + shoulder, as we walked through the town, felt the reflected glory of those + erudite rods. I myself—why conceal the fact?—was not without a + certain satisfaction as I piously carried that most delicate and precious + apparatus, the historic five-franc graphometer. The scene of operations + was an untilled, flinty plain, a harmas, as we call it in the district. + (Cf. "The Life of the Fly", by J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander + Teixeira de Mattos: chapter 1.—Translator's Note.) Here, no curtain + of green hedges or shrubs prevented me from keeping an eye upon my staff; + here—an indispensable condition—I had not the irresistible + temptation of the unripe apricots to fear for my scholars. The plain + stretched far and wide, covered with nothing but flowering thyme and + rounded pebbles. There was ample scope for every imaginable polygon; + trapezes and triangles could be combined in all sorts of ways. The + inaccessible distances had ample elbow-room; and there was even an old + ruin, once a pigeon-house, that lent its perpendicular to the + graphometer's performances. + </p> + <p> + Well, from the very first day, my attention was attracted by something + suspicious. If I sent one of the boys to plant a stake, I would see him + stop frequently on his way, bend down, stand up again, look about and + stoop once more, neglecting his straight line and his signals. Another, + who was told to pick up the arrows, would forget the iron pin and take up + a pebble instead; and a third deaf to the measurements of angles, would + crumble a clod of earth between his fingers. Most of them were caught + licking a bit of straw. The polygon came to a full stop, the diagonals + suffered. What could the mystery be? + </p> + <p> + I enquired; and everything was explained. A born searcher and observer, + the scholar had long known what the master had not yet heard of, namely, + that there was a big black Bee who made clay nests on the pebbles in the + harmas. These nests contained honey; and my surveyors used to open them + and empty the cells with a straw. The honey, although rather + strong-flavoured, was most acceptable. I acquired a taste for it myself + and joined the nest-hunters, putting off the polygon till later. It was + thus that I first saw Reaumur's Mason-bee, knowing nothing of her history + and nothing of her historian. + </p> + <p> + The magnificent Bee herself, with her dark-violet wings and black-velvet + raiment, her rustic edifices on the sun-blistered pebbles amid the thyme, + her honey, providing a diversion from the severities of the compass and + the square, all made a great impression on my mind; and I wanted to know + more than I had learnt from the schoolboys, which was just how to rob the + cells of their honey with a straw. As it happened, my bookseller had a + gorgeous work on insects for sale. It was called "Histoire naturelle des + animaux articules", by de Castelnau (Francis Comte de Castelnau de la + Porte (1812-1880), the naturalist and traveller. Castelnau was born in + London and died at Melbourne.—Translator's Note.), E. Blanchard + (Emile Blanchard (born 1820), author of various works on insects, Spiders, + etc.—Translator's Note.) and Lucas (Pierre Hippolyte Lucas (born + 1815), author of works on Moths and Butterflies, Crustaceans, etc.—Translator's + Note.), and boasted a multitude of most attractive illustrations; but the + price of it, the price of it! No matter: was not my splendid income + supposed to cover everything, food for the mind as well as food for the + body? Anything extra that I gave to the one I could save upon the other; a + method of balancing painfully familiar to those who look to science for + their livelihood. The purchase was effected. That day my professional + emoluments were severely strained: I devoted a month's salary to the + acquisition of the book. I had to resort to miracles of economy for some + time to come before making up the enormous deficit. + </p> + <p> + The book was devoured; there is no other word for it. In it, I learnt the + name of my black Bee; I read for the first time various details of the + habits of insects; I found, surrounded in my eyes with a sort of halo, the + revered names of Reaumur, Huber (Francois Huber (1750-1831), the Swiss + naturalist, author of "Nouvelles observations sur les abeilles." He early + became blind from excessive study and conducted his scientific work + thereafter with the aid of his wife.—Translator's Note.) and Leon + Dufour (Jean Marie Leon Dufour (1780-1865), an army surgeon who served + with distinction in several campaigns, and subsequently practised as a + doctor in the Landes, where he attained great eminence as a naturalist. + Fabre often refers to him as the Wizard of the Landes. Cf. "The Life of + the Spider", by J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de + Mattos: chapter 1; and "The Life of the Fly": chapter 1.—Translator's + Note.); and, while I turned over the pages for the hundredth time, a voice + within me seemed to whisper: + </p> + <p> + 'You also shall be of their company!' + </p> + <p> + Ah, fond illusions, what has come of you? (The present essay is one of the + earliest in the "Souvenirs Entomologiques."—Translator's Note.) + </p> + <p> + But let us banish these recollections, at once sweet and sad, and speak of + the doings of our black Bee. Chalicodoma, meaning a house of pebbles, + concrete or mortar, would be a most satisfactory title, were it not that + it has an odd sound to any one unfamiliar with Greek. The name is given to + Bees who build their cells with materials similar to those which we employ + for our own dwellings. The work of these insects is masonry; only it is + turned out by a rustic mason more used to hard clay than to hewn stone. + Reaumur, who knew nothing of scientific classification—a fact which + makes many of his papers very difficult to understand—named the + worker after her work and called our builders in dried clay Mason-bees, + which describes them exactly. + </p> + <p> + We have two of them in our district: the Chalicodoma of the Walls + (Chalicodoma muraria), whose history Reaumur gives us in a masterly + fashion; and the Sicilian Chalicodoma (C. sicula) (For reasons that will + become apparent after the reader has learnt their habits, the author also + speaks of the Mason-bee of the Walls and the Sicilian Mason-bee as the + Mason-bee of the Pebbles and the Mason-bee of the Sheds respectively. Cf. + Chapter 4 footnote.—Translator's Note.), who is not peculiar to the + land of Etna, as her name might suggest, but is also found in Greece, in + Algeria and in the south of France, particularly in the department of + Vaucluse, where she is one of the commonest Bees to be seen in the month + of May. In the first species the two sexes are so unlike in colouring that + a novice, surprised at observing them come out of the same nest, would at + first take them for strangers to each other. The female is of a splendid + velvety black, with dark-violet wings. In the male, the black velvet is + replaced by a rather bright brick-red fleece. The second species, which is + much smaller, does not show this contrast of colour: the two sexes wear + the same costume, a general mixture of brown, red and grey, while the tips + of the wings, washed with violet on a bronzed ground, recall, but only + faintly, the rich purple of the first species. Both begin their labours at + the same period, in the early part of May. + </p> + <p> + As Reaumur tells us, the Chalicodoma of the Walls in the northern + provinces selects a wall directly facing the sun and one not covered with + plaster, which might come off and imperil the future of the cells. She + confides her buildings only to solid foundations, such as bare stones. I + find her equally prudent in the south; but, for some reason which I do not + know, she here generally prefers some other base to the stone of a wall. A + rounded pebble, often hardly larger than one's fist, one of those cobbles + with which the waters of the glacial period covered the terraces of the + Rhone Valley, forms the most popular support. The extreme abundance of + these sites might easily influence the Bee's choice: all our less elevated + uplands, all our arid, thyme-clad grounds are nothing but water-worn + stones cemented with red earth. In the valleys, the Chalicodoma has also + the pebbles of the mountain-streams at her disposal. Near Orange, for + instance, her favourite spots are the alluvia of the Aygues, with their + carpets of smooth pebbles no longer visited by the waters. Lastly, if a + cobble be wanting, the Mason-bee will establish her nest on any sort of + stone, on a mile-stone or a boundary-wall. + </p> + <p> + The Sicilian Chalicodoma has an even greater variety of choice. Her most + cherished site is the lower surface of the projecting tiles of a roof. + There is not a cottage in the fields, however small, but shelters her + nests under the eaves. Here, each spring, she settles in populous + colonies, whose masonry, handed down from one generation to the next and + enlarged year by year, ends by covering considerable surfaces. I have seen + some of these nests, under the tiles of a shed, spreading over an area of + five or six square yards. When the colony was hard at work, the busy, + buzzing crowd was enough to make one giddy. The under side of a balcony + also pleases the Mason-bee, as does the embrasure of a disused window, + especially if it is closed by a blind whose slats allow her a free + passage. But these are popular resorts, where hundreds and thousands of + workers labour, each for herself. If she be alone, which happens pretty + often, the Sicilian Mason-bee instals herself in the first little nook + handy, provided that it supplies a solid foundation and warmth. As for the + nature of this foundation, she does not seem to mind. I have seen her + build on the bare stone, on bricks, on the wood of a shutter and even on + the window-panes of a shed. One thing only does not suit her: the plaster + of our houses. She is as prudent as her kinswoman and would fear the ruin + of her cells, if she entrusted them to a support which might possibly + fall. + </p> + <p> + Lastly, for reasons which I am still unable to explain to my own + satisfaction, the Sicilian Mason-bee often changes the position of her + building entirely, turning her heavy house of clay, which would seem to + require the solid support of a rock, into an aerial dwelling. A + hedge-shrub of any kind whatever—hawthorn, pomegranate, Christ's + thorn—provides her with a foundation, usually as high as a man's + head. The holm-oak and the elm give her a greater altitude. She chooses in + the bushy clump a twig no thicker than a straw; and on this narrow base + she constructs her edifice with the same mortar that she would employ + under a balcony or the ledge of a roof. When finished, the nest is a ball + of earth, bisected by the twig. It is the size of an apricot when the work + of a single insect and of one's fist if several have collaborated; but + this latter case is rare. + </p> + <p> + Both Bees use the same materials: calcareous clay, mingled with a little + sand and kneaded into a paste with the mason's own saliva. Damp places, + which would facilitate the quarrying and reduce the expenditure of saliva + for mixing the mortar, are scorned by the Mason-bees, who refuse fresh + earth for building even as our own builders refuse plaster and lime that + have long lost their setting-properties. These materials, when soaked with + pure moisture, would not hold properly. What is wanted is a dry dust, + which greedily absorbs the disgorged saliva and forms with the latter's + albuminous elements a sort of readily-hardening Roman cement, something in + short resembling the cement which we obtain with quicklime and white of + egg. + </p> + <p> + The mortar-quarry which the Sicilian Mason-bee prefers to work is a + frequented highway, whose metal of chalky flints, crushed by the passing + wheels, has become a smooth surface, like a continuous flagstone. Whether + settling on a twig in a hedge or fixing her abode under the eaves of some + rural dwelling, she always goes for her building-materials to the nearest + path or road, without allowing herself to be distracted from her business + by the constant traffic of people and cattle. You should see the active + Bee at work when the road is dazzling white under the rays of a hot sun. + Between the adjoining farm, which is the building-yard, and the road, in + which the mortar is prepared, we hear the deep hum of the Bees perpetually + crossing one another as they go to and fro. The air seems traversed by + incessant trails of smoke, so straight and rapid is the worker's flight. + Those on the way to the nest carry tiny pellets of mortar, the size of + small shot; those who return at once settle on the driest and hardest + spots. Their whole body aquiver, they scrape with the tips of their + mandibles and rake with their front tarsi to extract atoms of earth and + grains of sand, which, rolled between their teeth, become impregnated with + saliva and form a solid mass. The work is pursued so vigorously that the + worker lets herself be crushed under the feet of the passers-by rather + than abandon her task. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, the Mason-bee of the Walls, who seeks solitude, far + from human habitations, rarely shows herself on the beaten paths, perhaps + because these are too far from the places where she builds. So long as she + can find dry earth, rich in small gravel, near the pebble chosen as the + site of her nest, that is all she asks. + </p> + <p> + The Bee may either build an entirely new nest on a site as yet unoccupied, + or she may use the cells of an old nest, after repairing them. Let us + consider the former case first. After selecting her pebble, the Mason-bee + of the Walls arrives with a little ball of mortar in her mandibles and + lays it in a circular pad on the surface of the stone. The fore-legs and + above all the mandibles, which are the mason's chief tools, work the + material, which is kept plastic by the salivary fluid as this is gradually + disgorged. In order to consolidate the clay, angular bits of gravel, the + size of a lentil, are inserted separately, but only on the outside, in the + as yet soft mass. This is the foundation of the structure. Fresh layers + follow, until the cell has attained the desired height of two or three + centimetres. (Three-quarters of an inch to one inch.—Translator's + Note.) + </p> + <p> + Man's masonry is formed of stones laid one above the other and cemented + together with lime. The Chalicodoma's work can bear comparison with ours. + To economise labour and mortar, the Bee employs coarse materials, big + pieces of gravel, which to her represent hewn stones. She chooses them + carefully one by one, picks out the hardest bits, generally with corners + which, fitting one into the other, give mutual support and contribute to + the solidity of the whole. Layers of mortar, sparingly applied, hold them + together. The outside of the cell thus assumes the appearance of a piece + of rustic architecture, in which the stones project with their natural + irregularities; but the inside, which requires a more even surface in + order not to hurt the larva's tender skin, is covered with a coat of pure + mortar. This inner whitewash, however, is put on without any attempt at + art, indeed one might say that it is ladled on in great splashes; and the + grub takes care, after finishing its mess of honey, to make itself a + cocoon and hang the rude walls of its abode with silk. On the other hand, + the Anthophorae and the Halicti, two species of Wild Bees whose grubs + weave no cocoon, delicately glaze the inside of their earthen cells and + give them the gloss of polished ivory. + </p> + <p> + The structure, whose axis is nearly always vertical and whose orifice + faces upwards so as not to let the honey escape, varies a little in shape + according to the supporting base. When set on a horizontal surface, it + rises like a little oval tower; when fixed against an upright or slanting + surface, it resembles the half of a thimble divided from top to bottom. In + this case, the support itself, the pebble, completes the outer wall. + </p> + <p> + When the cell is finished, the Bee at once sets to work to victual it. The + flowers round about, especially those of the yellow broom (Genista + scoparia), which in May deck the pebbly borders of the mountain streams + with gold, supply her with sugary liquid and pollen. She comes with her + crop swollen with honey and her belly yellowed underneath with pollen + dust. She dives head first into the cell; and for a few moments you see + some spasmodic jerks which show that she is disgorging the honey-syrup. + After emptying her crop, she comes out of the cell, only to go in again at + once, but this time backwards. The Bee now brushes the lower side of her + abdomen with her two hind-legs and rids herself of her load of pollen. + Once more she comes out and once more goes in head first. It is a question + of stirring the materials, with her mandibles for a spoon, and making the + whole into a homogeneous mixture. This mixing-operation is not repeated + after every journey: it takes place only at long intervals, when a + considerable quantity of material has been accumulated. + </p> + <p> + The victualling is complete when the cell is half full. An egg must now be + laid on the top of the paste and the house must be closed. All this is + done without delay. The cover consists of a lid of pure mortar, which the + Bee builds by degrees, working from the circumference to the centre. Two + days at most appeared to me to be enough for everything, provided that no + bad weather—rain or merely clouds—came to interrupt the + labour. Then a second cell is built, backing on the first and provisioned + in the same manner. A third, a fourth, and so on follow, each supplied + with honey and an egg and closed before the foundations of the next are + laid. Each task begun is continued until it is quite finished; the Bee + never commences a new cell until the four processes needed for the + construction of its predecessor are completed: the building, the + victualling, the laying of the egg and the closing of the cell. + </p> + <p> + As the Mason-bee of the Walls always works by herself on the pebble which + she has chosen and even shows herself very jealous of her site when her + neighbours alight upon it, the number of cells set back to back upon one + pebble is not large, usually varying between six and ten. Do some eight + grubs represent the Bee's whole family? Or does she afterwards go and + establish a more numerous progeny on other boulders? The surface of the + same stone is spacious enough to provide a support for further cells if + the number of eggs called for them; the Bee could build there very + comfortably, without hunting for another site, without leaving the pebble + to which she is attached by habit and long acquaintance. It seems to me + therefore, exceedingly probable that the family is a small one and that it + is all installed on the one stone, at any rate when the Mason-bee is + building a new home. + </p> + <p> + The six to ten cells composing the cluster are certainly a solid dwelling, + with their rustic gravel covering; but the thickness of their walls and + lids, two millimetres (.078 inch—Translator's Note.) at most, seems + hardly sufficient to protect the grubs against the inclemencies of the + weather. Set on its pebble in the open air, without any sort of shelter, + the nest will have to undergo the heat of summer, which will turn each + cell into a stifling furnace, followed by the autumn rains, which will + slowly wear away the stonework, and by the winter frosts, which will + crumble what the rains have respected. However hard the cement may be, can + it possibly resist all these agents of destruction? And, even if it does + resist, will not the grubs, sheltered by too thin a wall, have to suffer + from excess of heat in summer and of cold in winter? + </p> + <p> + Without arguing all this out, the Bee nevertheless acts wisely. When all + the cells are finished, she builds a thick cover over the group, formed of + a material, impermeable to water and a bad conductor of heat, which acts + as a protection at the same time against damp, heat and cold. This + material is the usual mortar, made of earth mixed with saliva, but on this + occasion with no small stones in it. The Bee applies it pellet by pellet, + trowelful by trowelful, to the depth of a centimetre (.39 inch—Translator's + Note.) over the cluster of cells, which disappear entirely under the clay + covering. When this is done, the nest has the shape of a rough dome, equal + in size to half an orange. One would take it for a round lump of mud which + had been thrown and half crushed against a stone and had then dried where + it was. Nothing outside betrays the contents, no semblance of cells, no + semblance of work. To the inexperienced eye, it is a chance splash of mud + and nothing more. + </p> + <p> + This outer covering dries as quickly as do our hydraulic cements; and the + nest is now almost as hard as a stone. It takes a knife with a strong + blade to break open the edifice. And I would add, in conclusion, that, + under its final form, the nest in no way recalls the original work, so + much so that one would imagine the cells of the start, those elegant + turrets covered with stucco-work, and the dome of the finish, looking like + a mere lump of mud, to be the product of two different species. But scrape + away the crust of cement and we shall easily recognize the cells below and + their layers of tiny pebbles. + </p> + <p> + Instead of building a brand-new nest, on a hitherto unoccupied boulder, + the Mason-bee of the Walls is always glad to make use of the old nests + which have lasted through the year without suffering any damage worth + mentioning. The mortar dome has remained very much what it was at the + beginning, thanks to the solidity of the masonry, only it is perforated + with a number of round holes, corresponding with the chambers, the cells + inhabited by past generations of larvae. Dwellings such as these, which + need only a little repair to put them in good condition, save a great deal + of time and trouble; and the Mason-bees look out for them and do not + decide to build new nests except when the old ones are wanting. + </p> + <p> + From one and the same dome there issue several inhabitants, brothers and + sisters, ruddy males and black females, all the offspring of the same Bee. + The males lead a careless existence, know nothing of work and do not + return to the clay houses except for a brief moment to woo the ladies; nor + do they reck of the deserted cabin. What they want is the nectar in the + flower-cups, not mortar to mix between their mandibles. There remain the + young mothers, who alone are charged with the future of the family. To + which of them will the inheritance of the old nest revert? As sisters, + they have equal rights to it: so our code would decide, since the day when + it shook itself free of the old savage right of primogeniture. But the + Mason-bees have not yet got beyond the primitive basis of property, the + right of the first occupant. + </p> + <p> + When, therefore, the laying-time is at hand, the Bee takes possession of + the first vacant nest that suits her and settles there; and woe to any + sister or neighbour who shall henceforth dare to contest her ownership. + Hot pursuits and fierce blows will soon put the newcomer to flight. Of the + various cells that yawn like so many wells around the dome, only one is + needed at the moment; but the Bee rightly calculates that the others will + be useful presently for the other eggs; and she watches them all with + jealous vigilance to drive away possible visitors. Indeed I do not + remember ever seeing two Masons working on the same pebble. + </p> + <p> + The task is now very simple. The Bee examines the old cell to see what + parts require repairing. She tears off the strips of cocoon hanging from + the walls, removes the fragments of clay that fell from the ceiling when + pierced by the last inhabitant to make her exit, gives a coat of mortar to + the dilapidated parts, mends the opening a little; and that is all. Next + come the storing, the laying of the eggs and the closing of the chamber. + When all the cells, one after the other, are thus furnished, the outer + cover, the mortar dome, receives a few repairs if it needs them; and the + thing is done. + </p> + <p> + The Sicilian Mason-bee prefers company to a solitary life and establishes + herself in her hundreds, very often in many thousands, under the tiles of + a shed or the edge of a roof. These do not constitute a true society, with + common interests to which all attend, but a mere gathering, where each + works for herself and is not concerned with the rest, in short, a throng + of workers recalling the swarm of a hive only by their numbers and their + eagerness. The mortar employed is the same as that of the Mason-bee of the + Walls, equally unyielding and waterproof, but thinner and without pebbles. + The old nests are used first. Every free chamber is repaired, stocked and + sealed up. But the old cells are far from sufficient for the population, + which increases rapidly from year to year. Then, on the surface of the + nest, whose chambers are hidden under the old general mortar covering, new + cells are built, as the needs of the laying-time call for them. They are + placed horizontally, or nearly so, side by side, with no attempt at + orderly arrangement. Each architect has plenty of elbow-room and builds as + and where she pleases, on the one condition that she does not hamper her + neighbours' work; otherwise she can look out for rough handling from the + parties interested. The cells, therefore, accumulate at random in this + workyard where there is no organization. Their shape is that of a thimble + divided down the middle; and their walls are completed either by the + adjoining cells or by the surface of the old nest. Outside, they are rough + and display successive layers of knotted cords corresponding with the + different courses of mortar. Inside, the walls are flat without being + smooth; later on, the grub's cocoon will make up for any lack of polish. + </p> + <p> + Each cell, as built, is stocked and walled up immediately, as we have seen + with the Mason-bee of the Walls. This work goes on throughout the best + part of May. All the eggs are laid at last; and then the Bees, without + drawing distinctions between what does and what does not belong to them, + set to work in common on a general protection for the colony. This is a + thick coat of mortar, which fills up the gaps and covers all the cells. In + the end, the common nest presents the appearance of a wide expanse of dry + mud, with very irregular protuberances, thicker in the middle, the + original nucleus of the establishment, thinner at the edges, where as yet + there are only newly built cells, and varying greatly in dimensions + according to the number of workers and therefore to the age of the nest + first founded. Some of these nests are hardly larger than one's hand, + while others occupy the greater part of the projecting edge of a roof and + are measured by square yards. + </p> + <p> + When working alone, which is not unusual, on the shutter of a disused + window, on a stone, or on a twig in some hedge, the Sicilian Chalicodoma + behaves in just the same way. For instance, should she settle on a twig, + the Bee begins by solidly cementing the base of her cell to the slight + foundation. Next, the building rises, taking the form of a little upright + turret. This first cell, when victualled and sealed, is followed by + another, having as its support, in addition to the twig, the cells already + built. From six to ten chambers are thus grouped side by side. Lastly, one + coat of mortar covers everything, including the twig itself, which + provides a firm mainstay for the whole. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 2. EXPERIMENTS. + </h2> + <p> + As the nests of the Mason-bee of the Walls are erected on small-sized + pebbles, which can be easily carried wherever you like and moved about + from one place to another, without disturbing either the work of the + builder or the repose of the occupants of the cells, they lend themselves + readily to practical experiment, the only method that can throw a little + light on the nature of instinct. To study the insect's mental faculties to + any purpose, it is not enough for the observer to be able to profit by + some happy combination of circumstances: he must know how to produce other + combinations, vary them as much as possible and test them by substitution + and interchange. Lastly, to provide science with a solid basis of facts, + he must experiment. In this way, the evidence of formal records will one + day dispel the fantastic legends with which our books are crowded: the + Sacred Beetle (A Dung-beetle who rolls the manure of cattle into balls for + his own consumption and that of his young. Cf. "Insect Life", by J.H. + Fabre, translated by the author of "Mademoiselle Mori": chapters 1 and 2; + and "The Life and Love of the Insect", by J. Henri Fabre, translated by + Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chapters 1 to 4.—Translator's Note.) + calling on his comrades to lend a helping hand in dragging his pellet out + of a rut; the Sphex (A species of Hunting Wasp. Cf. "Insect Life": + chapters 6 to 12.—Translator's Note.) cutting up her Fly so as to be + able to carry him despite the obstacle of the wind; and all the other + fallacies which are the stock-in-trade of those who wish to see in the + animal world what is not really there. In this way, again, materials will + be prepared which will one day be worked up by the hand of a master and + consign hasty and unfounded theories to oblivion. + </p> + <p> + Reaumur, as a rule, confines himself to stating facts as he sees them in + the normal course of events and does not try to probe deeper into the + insect's ingenuity by means of artificially produced conditions. In his + time, everything had yet to be done; and the harvest was so great that the + illustrious harvester went straight to what was most urgent, the gathering + of the crop, and left his successors to examine the grain and the ear in + detail. Nevertheless, in connection with the Chalicodoma of the Walls, he + mentions an experiment made by his friend, Duhamel. (Henri Louis Duhamel + du Monceau (1700-1781), a distinguished writer on botany and agriculture.—Translator's + Note.) He tells us how a Mason-bee's nest was enclosed in a glass funnel, + the mouth of which was covered merely with a bit of gauze. From it there + issued three males, who, after vanquishing mortar as hard as stone, either + never thought of piercing the flimsy gauze or else deemed the work beyond + their strength. The three Bees died under the funnel. Reaumur adds that + insects generally know only how to do what they have to do in the ordinary + course of nature. + </p> + <p> + The experiment does not satisfy me, for two reasons: first, to ask workers + equipped with tools for cutting clay as hard as granite to cut a piece of + gauze does not strike me as a happy inspiration; you cannot expect a + navvy's pick-axe to do the same work as a dressmaker's scissors. Secondly, + the transparent glass prison seems to me ill-chosen. As soon as the insect + has made a passage through the thickness of its earthen dome, it finds + itself in broad daylight; and to it daylight means the final deliverance, + means liberty. It strikes against an invisible obstacle, the glass; and to + it glass is nothing at all and yet an obstruction. On the far side, it + sees free space, bathed in sunshine. It wears itself out in efforts to fly + there, unable to understand the futile nature of its attempts against that + strange barrier which it cannot see. It perishes, at last, of exhaustion, + without, in its obstinacy, giving a glance at the gauze closing the + conical chimney. The experiment must be renewed under better conditions. + </p> + <p> + The obstacle which I select is ordinary brown paper, stout enough to keep + the insect in the dark and thin enough not to offer serious resistance to + the prisoner's efforts. As there is a great difference, in so far as the + actual nature of the barrier is concerned, between a paper partition and a + clay ceiling, let us begin by enquiring if the Mason-bee of the Walls + knows how or rather is able to make her way through one of these + partitions. The mandibles are pickaxes suitable for breaking through hard + mortar: are they also scissors capable of cutting a thin membrane? This is + the point to look into first of all. + </p> + <p> + In February, by which time the insect is in its perfect state, I take a + certain number of cocoons, without damaging them, from their cells and + insert them each in a separate stump of reed, closed at one end by the + natural wall of the node and open at the other. These pieces of reed + represent the cells of the nest. The cocoons are introduced with the + insect's head turned towards the opening. Lastly, my artificial cells are + closed in different ways. Some receive a stopper of kneaded clay, which, + when dry, will correspond in thickness and consistency with the mortar + ceiling of the natural nest. Others are plugged with a cylinder of + sorghum, at least a centimetre (.39 inch—Translator's Note.) thick; + and the remainder with a disk of brown paper solidly fastened by the edge. + All these bits of reed are placed side by side in a box, standing upright, + with the roof of my making at the top. The insects, therefore, are in the + exact position which they occupied in the nest. To open a passage, they + must do what they would have done without my interference, they must break + through the wall situated above their heads. I shelter the whole under a + wide bell-glass and wait for the month of May, the period of the + deliverance. + </p> + <p> + The results far exceed my anticipations. The clay stopper, the work of my + fingers, is perforated with a round hole, differing in no wise from that + which the Mason-bee contrives through her native mortar dome. The + vegetable barrier, new to my prisoners, namely, the sorghum cylinder, also + opens with a neat orifice, which might have been the work of a punch. + Lastly, the brown-paper cover allows the Bee to make her exit not by + bursting through, by making a violent rent, but once more by a clearly + defined round hole. My Bees therefore are capable of a task for which they + were not born; to come out of their reed cells they do what probably none + of their race did before them; they perforate the wall of sorghum-pith, + they make a hole in the paper barrier, just as they would have pierced + their natural clay ceiling. When the moment comes to free themselves, the + nature of the impediment does not stop them, provided that it be not + beyond their strength; and henceforth the argument of incapacity cannot be + raised when a mere paper barrier is in question. + </p> + <p> + In addition to the cells made out of bits of reed, I put under the + bell-glass, at the same time, two nests which are intact and still resting + on their pebbles. To one of them I have attached a sheet of brown paper + pressed close against the mortar dome. In order to come out, the insect + will have to pierce first the dome and then the paper, which follows + without any intervening space. Over the other, I have placed a little + brown paper cone, gummed to the pebble. There is here, therefore, as in + the first case, a double wall—a clay partition and a paper partition—with + this difference, that the two walls do not come immediately after each + other, but are separated by an empty space of about a centimetre at the + bottom, increasing as the cone rises. + </p> + <p> + The results of these two experiments are quite different. The Bees in the + nest to which a sheet of paper was tightly stuck come out by piercing the + two enclosures, of which the outer wall, the paper wrapper, is perforated + with a very clean round hole, as we have already seen in the reed cells + closed with a lid of the same material. We thus become aware, for the + second time, that, when the Mason-bee is stopped by a paper barrier, the + reason is not her incapacity to overcome the obstacle. On the other hand, + the occupants of the nest covered with the cone, after making their way + through the earthen dome, finding the sheet of paper at some distance, do + not even try to perforate this obstacle, which they would have conquered + so easily had it been fastened to the nest. They die under the cover + without making any attempt to escape. Even so did Reaumur's Bees perish in + the glass funnel, where their liberty depended only upon their cutting + through a bit of gauze. + </p> + <p> + This fact strikes me as rich in inferences. What! Here are sturdy insects, + to whom boring through granite is mere play, to whom a stopper of soft + wood and a paper partition are walls quite easy to perforate despite the + novelty of the material; and yet these vigorous housebreakers allow + themselves to perish stupidly in the prison of a paper bag, which they + could have torn open with one stroke of their mandibles! They are capable + of tearing it, but they do not dream of doing so! There can be only one + explanation of this suicidal inaction. The insect is well-endowed with + tools and instinctive faculties for accomplishing the final act of its + metamorphosis, namely, the act of emerging from the cocoon and from the + cell. Its mandibles provide it with scissors, file, pick-axe and lever + wherewith to cut, gnaw through and demolish either its cocoon and its + mortar enclosure or any other not too obstinate barrier substituted for + the natural covering of the nest. Moreover—and this is an important + proviso, except for which the outfit would be useless—it has, I will + not say the will to use those tools, but a secret stimulus inviting it to + employ them. When the hour for the emergence arrives, this stimulus is + aroused and the insect sets to work to bore a passage. It little cares in + this case whether the material to be pierced be the natural mortar, + sorghum-pith, or paper: the lid that holds it imprisoned does not resist + for long. Nor even does it care if the obstacle be increased in thickness + and a paper wall be added outside the wall of clay: the two barriers, with + no interval between them, form but one to the Bee, who passes through them + because the act of getting out is still one act and one only. With the + paper cone, whose wall is a little way off, the conditions are changed, + though the total thickness of wall is really the same. Once outside its + earthen abode, the insect has done all that it was destined to do in order + to release itself; to move freely on the mortar dome represents to it the + end of the release, the end of the act of boring. Around the nest a new + barrier appears, the wall made by the paper bag; but, in order to pierce + this, the insect would have to repeat the act which it has just + accomplished, the act which it is not intended to perform more than once + in its life; it would, in short, have to make into a double act that which + by nature is a single one; and the insect cannot do this, for the sole + reason that it has not the wish to. The Mason-bee perishes for lack of the + smallest gleam of intelligence. And this is the singular intellect in + which it is the fashion nowadays to see a germ of human reason! The + fashion will pass and the facts remain, bringing us back to the good old + notions of the soul and its immortal destinies. + </p> + <p> + Reaumur tells us how his friend Duhamel, having seized a Mason-bee with a + forceps when she had half entered the cell, head foremost, to fill it with + pollen-paste, carried her to a closet at some distance from the spot where + he captured her. The Bee got away from him in this closet and flew out + through the window. Duhamel made straight for the nest. The Mason arrived + almost as soon as he did and renewed her work. She only seemed a little + wilder, says the narrator, in conclusion. + </p> + <p> + Why were you not here with me, revered master, on the banks of the Aygues, + which is a vast expanse of pebbles for three-fourths of the year and a + mighty torrent when it rains? I should have shown you something infinitely + better than the fugitive escaping from the forceps. You would have + witnessed—and in so doing, would have shared my surprise—not + the brief flight of the Mason who, carried to the nearest room, releases + herself and forthwith returns to her nest in that familiar neighbourhood, + but long journeys through unknown country. You would have seen the Bee + whom I carried to a great distance from her home, to quite unfamiliar + ground, find her way back with a geographical sense of which the Swallow, + the Martin and the Carrier-pigeon would not have been ashamed; and you + would have asked yourself, as I did, what incomprehensible knowledge of + the local map guides that mother seeking her nest. + </p> + <p> + To come to facts: it is a matter of repeating with the Mason-bee of the + Walls my former experiments with the Cerceris-wasps (Cf. "Insect Life": + chapter 19.—Translator's Note.), of carrying the insect, in the + dark, a long way from its nest, marking it and then leaving it to its own + resources. In case any one should wish to try the experiment for himself, + I make him a present of my manner of operation, which may save him time at + the outset. The insect intended for a long journey must obviously be + handled with certain precautions. There must be no forceps employed, no + pincers, which might maim a wing, strain it and weaken the power of + flight. While the Bee is in her cell, absorbed in her work, I place a + small glass test-tube over it. The Mason, when she flies away, rushes into + the tube, which enables me, without touching her, to transfer her at once + into a screw of paper. This I quickly close. A tin box, an ordinary + botanizing-case, serves to convey the prisoners, each in her separate + paper bag. + </p> + <p> + The most delicate business, that of marking each captive before setting + her free, is left to be done on the spot selected for the starting-point. + I use finely-powdered chalk, steeped in a strong solution of gum arabic. + The mixture, applied to some part of the insect with a straw, leaves a + white patch, which soon dries and adheres to the fleece. When a particular + Mason-bee has to be marked so as to distinguish her from another in short + experiments, such as I shall describe presently, I confine myself to + touching the tip of the abdomen with my straw while the insect is half in + the cell, head downwards. The slight touch is not noticed by the Bee, who + continues her work quite undisturbed; but the mark is not very deep and + moreover it is in a rather bad place for any prolonged experiment, for the + Bee is constantly brushing her belly to detach the pollen and is sure to + rub it off sooner or later. I therefore make another one, dropping the + sticky chalk right in the middle of the thorax, between the wings. + </p> + <p> + It is hardly possible to wear gloves at this work: the fingers need all + their deftness to take up the restless Bee delicately and to overpower her + without rough pressure. It is easily seen that, though the job may yield + no other profit, you are at least sure of being stung. The sting can be + avoided with a little dexterity, but not always. You have to put up with + it. In any case, the Mason-bee's sting is far less painful than that of + the Hive-bee. The white spot is dropped on the thorax; the Mason flies + off; and the mark dries on the journey. + </p> + <p> + I start with two Mason-bees of the Walls working at their nests on the + pebbles in the alluvia of the Aygues, not far from Serignan. I carry them + home with me to Orange, where I release them after marking them. According + to the ordnance-survey map, the distance is about two and a half miles as + the crow flies. The captives are set at liberty in the evening, at a time + when the Bees begin to leave off work for the day. It is therefore + probable that my two Bees will spend their night in the neighbourhood. + </p> + <p> + Next morning, I go to the nests. The weather is still too cool and the + works are suspended. When the dew has gone, the Masons begin work. I see + one, but without a white spot, bringing pollen to one of the nests which + had been occupied by the travellers whom I am expecting. She is a stranger + who, finding the cell whose owner I myself had exiled untenanted, has + installed herself there and made it her property, not knowing that it is + already the property of another. She has perhaps been victualling it since + yesterday evening. Close upon ten o'clock, when the heat is at its full, + the mistress of the house suddenly arrives: her title-deeds as the + original occupant are inscribed for me in undeniable characters on her + thorax white with chalk. Here is one of my travellers back. + </p> + <p> + Over waving corn, over fields all pink with sainfoin, she has covered the + two miles and a half; and here she is, back at the nest, after foraging on + the way, for the doughty creature arrives with her abdomen yellow with + pollen. To come home again from the verge of the horizon is wonderful in + itself; to come home with a well-filled pollen-brush is superlative + economy. A journey, even a forced journey, always becomes a + foraging-expedition. + </p> + <p> + She finds the stranger in the nest: + </p> + <p> + 'What's this? I'll teach you!' + </p> + <p> + And the owner falls furiously upon the intruder, who possibly was meaning + no harm. A hot chase in mid-air now takes place between the two Masons. + From time to time, they hover almost without movement, face to face, with + only a couple of inches separating them, and here, doubtless measuring + forces with their eyes, they buzz insults at each other. Then they go back + and alight on the nest in dispute, first one, then the other. I expect to + see them come to blows, to make them draw their stings. But my hopes are + disappointed: the duties of maternity speak in too imperious a voice for + them to risk their lives and wipe out the insult in a mortal duel. The + whole thing is confined to hostile demonstrations and a few insignificant + cuffs. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the real proprietress seems to derive double courage and + double strength from the feeling that she is in her rights. She takes up a + permanent position on the nest and receives the other, each time that she + ventures to approach, with an angry quiver of her wings, an unmistakable + sign of her righteous indignation. The stranger, at last discouraged, + retires from the field. Forthwith the Mason resumes her work, as actively + as though she had not just undergone the hardships of a long journey. + </p> + <p> + One more word on these quarrels about property. It is not unusual, when + one Mason-bee is away on an expedition, for another, some homeless + vagabond, to call at the nest, take a fancy to it and set to work on it, + sometimes at the same cell, sometimes at the next, if there are several + vacant, which is generally the case in the old nests. The first occupier, + on her return, never fails to drive away the intruder, who always ends by + being turned out, so keen and invincible is the mistress' sense of + ownership. Reversing the savage Prussian maxim, 'Might is right,' among + the Mason-bees right is might, for there is no other explanation of the + invariable retreat of the usurper, whose strength is not a whit inferior + to that of the real owner. If she is less bold, this is because she has + not the tremendous moral support of knowing herself in the right, which + makes itself respected, among equals, even in the brute creation. + </p> + <p> + The second of my travellers does not reappear, either on the day when the + first arrived or on the following days. I decide upon another experiment, + on this occasion with five subjects. The starting-place is the same; and + the place of arrival, the distance, the time of day, all remain unchanged. + Of the five with whom I experiment, I find three at their nests next day; + the two others are missing. + </p> + <p> + It is therefore fully established that the Mason-bee of the Walls, carried + to a distance of two and a half miles and released at a place which she + has certainly never seen before, is able to return to the nest. But why do + first one out of two and then two out of five fail to join their fellows? + What one can do cannot another do? Is there a difference in the faculty + that guides them over unknown ground? Or is it not rather a difference in + flying-power? I remember that my Bees did not all start off with the same + vigour. Some were hardly out of my fingers before they darted furiously + into the air, where I at once lost sight of them, whereas the others came + dropping down a few yards away from me, after a short flight. The latter, + it seems certain, must have suffered on the journey, perhaps from the heat + concentrated in the furnace of my box. Or I may have hurt the articulation + of the wings in marking them, an operation difficult to perform when you + are guarding against stings. These are maimed, feeble creatures, who will + linger in the sainfoin-fields close by, and not the powerful aviators + required by the journey. + </p> + <p> + The experiment must be tried again, taking count only of the Bees who + start off straight from between my fingers with a clean, vigorous flight. + The waverers, the laggards who stop almost at once on some bush shall be + left out of the reckoning. Moreover, I will do my best to estimate the + time taken in returning to the nest. For an experiment of this kind, I + need plenty of subjects, as the weak and the maimed, of whom there may be + many, are to be disregarded. The Mason-bee of the Walls is unable to + supply me with the requisite number: there are not enough of her; and I am + anxious not to interfere too much with the little Aygues-side colony, for + whom I have other experiments in view. Fortunately, I have at my own + place, under the eaves of a shed, a magnificent nest of Chalicodoma sicula + in full activity. I can draw to whatever extent I please on the populous + city. The insect is small, less than half the size of C. muraria, but no + matter: it will deserve all the more credit if it can traverse the two + miles and a half in store for it and find its way back to the nest. I take + forty Bees, isolating them, as usual, in screws of paper. + </p> + <p> + In order to reach the nest, I place a ladder against the wall: it will be + used by my daughter Aglae and will enable her to mark the exact moment of + the return of the first Bee. I set the clock on the mantelpiece and my + watch at the same time, so that we may compare the instant of departure + and of arrival. Things being thus arranged, I carry off my forty captives + and go to the identical spot where C. muraria works, in the pebbly bed of + the Aygues. The trip will have a double object: to observe Reaumur's Mason + and to set the Sicilian Mason at liberty. The latter, therefore, will also + have two and a half miles to travel home. + </p> + <p> + At last my prisoners are released, all of them being first marked with a + big white dot in the middle of the thorax. + </p> + <p> + You do not come off scot-free when handling one after the other forty + wrathful Bees, who promptly unsheathe and brandish their poisoned stings. + The stab is but too often given before the mark is made. My smarting + fingers make movements of self-defence which my will is not always able to + control. I take hold with greater precaution for myself than for the + insect; I sometimes squeeze harder than I ought to if I am to spare my + travellers. To experiment so as to lift, if possible, a tiny corner of the + veil of truth is a fine and noble thing, a mighty stimulant in the face of + danger; but still one may be excused for displaying some impatience when + it is a matter of receiving forty stings in one's fingers at one short + sitting. If any man should reproach me for being too careless with my + thumbs, I would suggest that he should have a try: he can then judge for + himself the pleasures of the situation. + </p> + <p> + To cut a long story short, either through the fatigue of the journey, or + through my fingers pressing too hard and perhaps injuring some + articulations, only twenty out of my forty Bees start with a bold, + vigorous flight. The others, unable to keep their balance, wander about on + the nearest bit of grass or remain on the osier-shoots on which I have + placed them, refusing to fly even when I tickle them with a straw. These + weaklings, these cripples, these incapables injured by my fingers must be + struck off my list. Those who started with an unhesitating flight number + about twenty. That is ample. + </p> + <p> + At the actual moment of departure, there is nothing definite about the + direction taken, none of that straight flight to the nest which the + Cerceris-wasps once showed me in similar circumstances. As soon as they + are liberated, the Mason-bees flee as though scared, some in one + direction, some in exactly the opposite direction. Nevertheless, as far as + their impetuous flight allows, I seem to perceive a quick return on the + part of those Bees who have started flying towards a point opposite to + their home; and the majority appear to me to be making for those blue + distances where their nest lies. I leave this question with certain doubts + which are inevitable in the case of insects which I cannot follow with my + eyes for more than twenty yards. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto, the operation has been favoured by calm weather; but now things + become complicated. The heat is stifling and the sky becomes stormy. A + stiff breeze springs up, blowing from the south, the very direction which + my Bees must take to return to the nest. Can they overcome this opposing + current and cleave the aerial torrent with their wings? If they try, they + will have to fly close to the ground, as I now see the Bees do who + continue their foraging; but soaring to lofty regions, whence they can + obtain a clear view of the country, is, so it seems to me, prohibited. I + am therefore very apprehensive as to the success of my experiment when I + return to Orange, after first trying to steal some fresh secret from the + Aygues Mason-bee of the Pebbles. + </p> + <p> + I have scarcely reached the house before Aglae greets me, her cheeks + flushed with excitement: + </p> + <p> + 'Two!' she cries. 'Two came back at twenty minutes to three, with a load + of pollen under their bellies!' + </p> + <p> + A friend of mine had appeared upon the scene, a grave man of the law, who + on hearing what was happening, had neglected code and stamped paper and + insisted upon also being present at the arrival of my Carrier-pigeons. The + result interested him more than his case about a party-wall. Under a + tropical sun, in a furnace heat reflected from the wall of the shed, every + five minutes he climbed the ladder bare-headed, with no other protection + against sunstroke than his thatch of thick, grey locks. Instead of the one + observer whom I had posted, I found two good pairs of eyes watching the + Bees' return. + </p> + <p> + I had released my insects at about two o'clock; and the first arrivals + returned to the nest at twenty minutes to three. They had therefore taken + less than three-quarters of an hour to cover the two miles and a half, a + very striking result, especially when we remember that the Bees did some + foraging on the road, as was proved by the yellow pollen on their bellies, + and that, on the other hand, the travellers' flight must have been + hindered by the wind blowing against them. Three more came home before my + eyes, each with her load of pollen, an outward and visible sign of the + work done on the journey. As it was growing late, our observations had to + cease. When the sun goes down, the Mason-bees leave the nest and take + refuge somewhere or other, perhaps under the tiles of the roofs, or in + little corners of the walls. I could not reckon on the arrival of the + others before work was resumed, in the full sunshine. + </p> + <p> + Next day, when the sun recalled the scattered workers to the nest, I took + a fresh census of Bees with a white spot on the thorax. My success + exceeded all my hopes: I counted fifteen, fifteen of the transported + prisoners of the day before, storing their cells or building as though + nothing out of the way had happened. The weather had become more and more + threatening; and now the storm burst and was followed by a succession of + rainy days which prevented me from continuing. + </p> + <p> + The experiment suffices as it stands. Of some twenty Bees who had seemed + fit to make the long journey when I released them, fifteen at least had + returned: two within the first hour, three in the course of the evening + and the rest next morning. They had returned in spite of having the wind + against them and—a graver difficulty still—in spite of being + unacquainted with the locality to which I had transported them. There is, + in fact, no doubt that they were setting eyes for the first time on those + osier-beds of the Aygues which I had selected as the starting-point. Never + would they have travelled so far afield of their own accord, for + everything that they want for building and victualling under the roof of + my shed is within easy reach. The path at the foot of the wall supplies + the mortar; the flowery meadows surrounding my house furnish nectar and + pollen. Economical of their time as they are, they do not go flying two + miles and a half in search of what abounds at a few yards from the nest. + Besides, I see them daily taking their building-materials from the path + and gathering their harvest on the wild-flowers, especially on the meadow + sage. To all appearance, their expeditions do not cover more than a radius + of a hundred yards or so. Then how did my exiles return? What guided them? + It was certainly not memory, but some special faculty which we must + content ourselves with recognizing by its astonishing effects without + pretending to explain it, so greatly does it transcend our own psychology. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 3. EXCHANGING THE NESTS. + </h2> + <p> + Let us continue our series of tests with the Mason-bee of the Walls. + Thanks to its position on a pebble which we can move at will, the nest of + this Bee lends itself to most interesting experiments. Here is the first: + I shift a nest from its place, that is to say, I carry the pebble which + serves as its support to a spot two yards away. As the edifice and its + base form but one, the removal is performed without the smallest + disturbance of the cells. I lay the boulder in an exposed place where it + is well in view, as it was on its original site. The Bee returning from + her harvest cannot fail to see it. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes, the owner arrives and goes straight to where the nest + stood. She hovers gracefully over the vacant site, examines and alights + upon the exact spot where the stone used to lie. Here she walks about for + a long time, making persistent searches; then the Bee takes wing and flies + away to some distance. Her absence is of short duration. Here she is back + again. The search is resumed, walking and flying, and always on the site + which the nest occupied at first. A fresh fit of exasperation, that is to + say, an abrupt flight across the osier-bed, is followed by a fresh return + and a renewal of the vain search, always upon the mark left by the shifted + pebble. These sudden departures, these prompt returns, these persevering + inspections of the deserted spot continue for a long time, a very long + time, before the Mason is convinced that her nest is gone. She has + certainly seen it, has seen it over and over again in its new position, + for sometimes she has flown only a few inches above it; but she takes no + notice of it. To her, it is not her nest, but the property of another Bee. + </p> + <p> + Often the experiment ends without so much as a single visit to the boulder + which I have moved two or three yards away: the Bee goes off and does not + return. If the distance be less, a yard for instance, the Mason sooner or + later alights on the stone which supports her abode. She inspects the cell + which she was building or provisioning a little while before, repeatedly + dips her head into it, examines the surface of the pebble step by step + and, after long hesitations, goes and resumes her search on the site where + the home ought to be. The nest that is no longer in its natural place is + definitely abandoned, even though it be but a yard away from the original + spot. Vainly does the Bee settle on it time after time: she cannot + recognize it as hers. I was convinced of this on finding it, several days + after the experiment, in just the same condition as when I moved it. The + open cell half-filled with honey was still open and was surrendering its + contents to the pillaging Ants; the cell that was building had remained + unfinished, with not a single layer added to it. The Bee, obviously, may + have returned to it; but she had not resumed work upon it. The + transplanted dwelling was abandoned for good and all. + </p> + <p> + I will not deduce the strange paradox that the Mason-bee, though capable + of finding her nest from the verge of the horizon, is incapable of finding + it at a yard's distance: I interpret the occurrence as meaning something + quite different. The proper inference appears to me to be this: the Bee + retains a rooted impression of the site occupied by the nest and returns + to it with unwearying persistence even when the nest is gone. But she has + only a very vague notion of the nest itself. She does not recognize the + masonry which she herself has erected and kneaded with her saliva; she + does not know the pollen-paste which she herself has stored. In vain she + inspects her cell, her own handiwork; she abandons it, refusing to + acknowledge it as hers, once the spot whereon the pebble rests is changed. + </p> + <p> + Insect memory, it must be confessed, is a strange one, displaying such + lucidity in its general acquaintance with locality and such limitations in + its knowledge of the dwelling. I feel inclined to call it topographical + instinct: it grasps the map of the country and not the beloved nest, the + home itself. The Bembex-wasps (Cf. "Insect Life": chapters 16 to 19.—Translator's + Note.) have already led us to a like conclusion. When the nest is laid + open, these Wasps become wholly indifferent to the family, to the grub + writhing in agony in the sun. They do not recognize it. What they do + recognize, what they seek and find with marvellous precision, is the site + of the entrance-door of which nothing at all is left, not even the + threshold. + </p> + <p> + If any doubts remained as to the incapacity of the Mason-bee of the Walls + to know her nest other than by the place which the pebble occupies on the + ground, here is something to remove them: for the nest of one Mason-bee, I + substitute that of another, resembling it as closely as possible in + respect to both masonry and storage. This exchange and those of which I + shall speak presently are of course made in the owner's absence. The Bee + settles without hesitation in this nest which is not hers, but which + stands where the other did. If she was building, I offer her a cell in + process of building. She continues the masonry with the same care and the + same zeal as if the work already done were her own work. If she was + fetching honey and pollen, I offer her a partly-provisioned cell. She + continues her journeys, with honey in her crop and pollen under her belly, + to finish filling another's warehouse. The Bee, therefore, does not + suspect the exchange; she does not distinguish between what is her + property and what is not; she imagines that she is still working at the + cell which is really hers. + </p> + <p> + After leaving her for a time in possession of the strange nest, I give her + back her own. This fresh change passes unperceived by the Bee: the work is + continued in the cell restored to her at the point which it had reached in + the substituted cell. I once more replace it by the strange nest; and + again the insect persists in continuing its labour. By thus constantly + interchanging the strange nest and the proper nest, without altering the + actual site, I thoroughly convinced myself of the Bee's inability to + discriminate between what is her work and what is not. Whether the cell + belong to her or to another, she labours at it with equal zest, so long as + the basis of the edifice, the pebble, continues to occupy its original + position. + </p> + <p> + The experiment receives an added interest if we employ two neighbouring + nests the work on which is about equally advanced. I move each to where + the other stood. They are not much more than thirty inches a part. In + spite of their being so near to each other that it is quite possible for + the insects to see both homes at once and choose between them, each Bee, + on arriving, settles immediately on the substituted nest and continues her + work there. Change the two nests as often as you please and you shall see + the two Mason-bees keep to the site which they selected and labour in turn + now at their own cell and now at the other's. + </p> + <p> + One might think that the cause of this confusion lies in a close + resemblance between the two nests, for at the start, little expecting the + results which I was to obtain, I used to choose the nests which I + interchanged as much alike as possible, for fear of disheartening the + Bees. I need not have taken this precaution: I was giving the insect + credit for a perspicacity which it does not possess. Indeed, I now take + two nests which are extremely unlike each other, the only point of + resemblance being that, in each case, the toiler finds a cell in which she + can continue the work which she is actually doing. The first is an old + nest whose dome is perforated with eight holes, the apertures of the cells + of the previous generation. One of these cells has been repaired; and the + Bee is busy storing it. The second is a nest of recent construction, which + has not received its mortar dome and consists of a single cell with its + stucco covering. Here too the insect is busy hoarding pollen-paste. No two + nests could present greater differences: one with its eight empty chambers + and its spreading clay dome; the other with its single bare cell, at most + the size of an acorn. + </p> + <p> + Well, the two Mason-bees do not hesitate long in front of these exchanged + nests, not three feet away from each other. Each makes for the site of her + late home. One, the original owner of the old nest, finds nothing but a + solitary cell. She rapidly inspects the pebble and, without further + formalities, first plunges her head into the strange cell, to disgorge + honey, and then her abdomen, to deposit pollen. And this is not an action + due to the imperative need of ridding herself as quickly as possible, no + matter where, of an irksome load, for the Bee flies off and soon comes + back again with a fresh supply of provender, which she stores away + carefully. This carrying of provisions to another's larder is repeated as + often as I permit it. The other Bee, finding instead of her one cell a + roomy structure consisting of eight apartments, is at first not a little + embarrassed. Which of the eight cells is the right one? In which is the + heap of paste on which she had begun? The Bee therefore visits the + chambers one by one, dives right down to the bottom and ends by finding + what she seeks, that is to say, what was in her nest when she started on + her last journey, the nucleus of a store of food. Thenceforward she + behaves like her neighbour and goes on carrying honey and pollen to the + warehouse which is not of her constructing. + </p> + <p> + Restore the nests to their original places, exchange them yet once again + and both Bees, after a short hesitation which the great difference between + the two nests is enough to explain, will pursue the work in the cell of + her own making and in the strange cell alternately. At last the egg is + laid and the sanctuary closed, no matter what nest happens to be occupied + at the moment when the provisioning reaches completion. These incidents + are sufficient to show why I hesitate to give the name of memory to the + singular faculty that brings the insect back to her nest with such + unerring precision and yet does not allow her to distinguish her work from + some one else's, however great the difference may be. + </p> + <p> + We will now experiment with Chalicodoma muraria from another psychological + point of view. Here is a Mason-bee building; she is at work on the first + course of her cell. I give her in exchange a cell not only finished as a + structure, but also filled nearly to the top with honey. I have just + stolen it from its owner, who would not have been long before laying her + egg in it. What will the Mason do in the presence of this munificent gift, + which saves her the trouble of building and harvesting? She will leave the + mortar no doubt, finish storing the Bee-bread, lay her egg and seal up. A + mistake, an utter mistake: our logic is not the logic of the insect, which + obeys an inevitable, unconscious prompting. It has no choice as to what it + shall do; it cannot discriminate between what is and what is not + advisable; it glides, as it were, down an irresistible slope prepared + beforehand to bring it to a definite end. This is what the facts that + still remain to be stated proclaim with no uncertain voice. + </p> + <p> + The Bee who was building and to whom I offer a cell ready-built and full + of honey does not lay aside her mortar for that. She was doing mason's + work; and, once on that tack, guided by the unconscious impulse, she has + to keep masoning, even though her labour be useless, superfluous and + opposed to her interests. The cell which I give her is certainly perfect, + looked upon as a building, in the opinion of the master-builder herself, + since the Bee from whom I took it was completing the provision of honey. + To touch it up, especially to add to it, is useless and, what is more, + absurd. No matter: the Bee who was masoning will mason. On the aperture of + the honey-store she lays a first course of mortar, followed by another and + yet another, until at last the cell is a third taller then the regulation + height. The masonry-task is now done, not as perfectly, it is true, as if + the Bee had gone on with the cell whose foundations she was laying at the + moment when I exchanged the nests, but still to an extent which is more + than enough to prove the overpowering impulse which the builder obeys. + Next comes the victualling, which is also cut short, lest the honey-store + swelled by the joint contributions of the two Bees should overflow. Thus + the Mason-bee who is beginning to build and to whom we give a complete + cell, a cell filled with honey, makes no change in the order of her work: + she builds first and then victuals. Only she shortens her work, her + instinct warning her that the height of the cell and the quantity of honey + are beginning to assume extravagant proportions. + </p> + <p> + The converse is equally conclusive. To a Mason-bee engaged in victualling + I give a nest with a cell only just begun and not at all fit to receive + the paste. This cell, with its last course still wet with its builder's + saliva, may or may not be accompanied by other cells recently closed up, + each with its honey and its egg. The Bee, finding this in the place of her + half-filled honey-store, is greatly perplexed what to do when she comes + with her harvest to this unfinished, shallow cup, in which there is no + place to put the honey. She inspects it, measures it with her eyes, tries + it with her antennae and recognizes its insufficient capacity. She + hesitates for a long time, goes away, comes back, flies away again and + soon returns, eager to deposit her treasure. The insect's embarrassment is + most evident; and I cannot help saying, inwardly: + </p> + <p> + 'Get some mortar, get some mortar and finish making the warehouse. It will + only take you a few moments; and you will have a cupboard of the right + depth.' + </p> + <p> + The Bee thinks differently: she was storing her cell and she must go on + storing, come what may. Never will she bring herself to lay aside the + pollen-brush for the trowel; never will she suspend the foraging which is + occupying her at this moment to begin the work of construction which is + not yet due. She will rather go in search of a strange cell, in the + desired condition, and slip in there to deposit her honey, at the risk of + meeting with a warm reception from the irate owner. She goes off, in fact, + to try her luck. I wish her success, being myself the cause of this + desperate act. My curiosity has turned an honest worker into a robber. + </p> + <p> + Things may take a still more serious turn, so invincible, so imperious is + the desire to have the booty stored in a safe place without delay. The + uncompleted cell which the Bee refuses to accept instead of her own + finished warehouse, half-filled with honey, is often, as I said, + accompanied by other cells, not long closed, each containing its Bee-bread + and its egg. In this case, I have sometimes, though not always, witnessed + the following: when once the Bee realises the shortcomings of the + unfinished nest, she begins to gnaw the clay lid closing one of the + adjoining cells. She softens a part of the mortar cover with saliva and + patiently, atom by atom, digs through the hard wall. It is very slow work. + A good half-hour elapses before the tiny cavity is large enough to admit a + pin's head. I wait longer still. Then I lose patience; and, fully + convinced that the Bee is trying to open the store-room, I decide to help + her to shorten the work. The upper part of the cell comes away with it, + leaving the edges badly broken. In my awkwardness, I have turned an + elegant vase into a wretched cracked pot. + </p> + <p> + I was right in my conjecture: the Bee's intention was to break open the + door. Straight away, without heeding the raggedness of the orifice, she + settles down in the cell which I have opened for her. Time after time, she + fetches honey and pollen, though the larder is already fully stocked. + Lastly, she lays her egg in this cell which already contains an egg that + is not hers, having done which she closes the broken aperture to the best + of her ability. So this purveyor had neither the knowledge nor the power + to bow to the inevitable. I had made it impossible for her to go on with + her purveying, unless she first completed the unfinished cell substituted + for her own. But she did not retreat before that impossible task. She + accomplished her work, but in the absurdest way: by injuriously + trespassing upon another's property, by continuing to store provisions in + a cupboard already full to overflowing, by laying her egg in a cell in + which the real owner had already laid and lastly by hurriedly closing an + orifice that called for serious repairs. What better proof could be wished + of the irresistible propensity which the insect obeys? + </p> + <p> + Lastly, there are certain swift and consecutive actions so closely + interlinked that the performance of the second demands a previous + repetition of the first, even when this action has become useless. I have + already described how the Yellow-winged Sphex (Cf. "Insect Life": chapters + 6 to 9.—Translator's Note.) persists in descending into her burrow + alone, after depositing at its edge the Cricket whom I maliciously at once + remove. Her repeated discomfitures do not make her abandon the preliminary + inspection of the home, an inspection which becomes quite useless when + renewed for the tenth or twentieth time. The Mason-bee of the Walls shows + us, under another form, a similar repetition of an act which is useless in + itself, but which is the compulsory preface to the act that follows. When + arriving with her provisions, the Bee performs a twofold operation of + storing. First, she dives head foremost into the cell, to disgorge the + contents of her crop; next, she comes out and at once goes in again + backwards, to brush her abdomen and rub off the load of pollen. At the + moment when the insect is about to enter the cell tail first, I push her + aside gently with a straw. The second act is thus prevented. The Bee now + begins the whole performance over again, that is to say, she once more + dives head first to the bottom of the cell, though she has nothing left to + disgorge, as her crop has just been emptied. When this is done, it is the + belly's turn. I instantly push her aside again. The insect repeats its + proceedings, still entering head first; I also repeat my touch of the + straw. And this can go on as long as the observer pleases. Pushed aside at + the moment when she is about to insert her abdomen into the cell, the Bee + goes back to the opening and persists in going down head first to begin + with. Sometimes, she descends to the bottom, sometimes only half-way, + sometimes again she only pretends to descend, just bending her head into + the aperture; but, whether completed or not, this action, for which there + is no longer any motive, since the honey has already been disgorged, + invariably precedes the entrance backwards to deposit the pollen. It is + almost the movement of a machine whose works are only set going when the + driving-wheel begins to revolve. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 4. MORE ENQUIRIES INTO MASON-BEES. + </h2> + <p> + This chapter was to have taken the form of a letter addressed to Charles + Darwin, the illustrious naturalist who now lies buried beside Newton in + Westminster Abbey. It was my task to report to him the result of some + experiments which he had suggested to me in the course of our + correspondence: a very pleasant task, for, though facts, as I see them, + disincline me to accept his theories, I have none the less the deepest + veneration for his noble character and his scientific honesty. I was + drafting my letter when the sad news reached me: Darwin was dead; after + searching the mighty question of origins, he was now grappling with the + last and darkest problem of the hereafter. (Darwin died at Down, in Kent, + on the 19th of April 1882.—Translator's Note.) I therefore abandon + the epistolary form, which would be unwarranted in view of that grave at + Westminster. A free and impersonal statement shall set forth what I + intended to relate in a more academic manner. + </p> + <p> + One thing, above all, had struck the English scientist on reading the + first volume of my "Souvenirs entomologiques", namely, the Mason-bees' + faculty of knowing the way back to their nests after being carried to + great distances from home. What sort of compass do they employ on their + return journeys? What sense guides them? The profound observer thereupon + spoke of an experiment which he had always longed to make with Pigeons and + which he had always neglected making, absorbed as he was by other + interests. This experiment, he thought, I might attempt with my Bees. + Substitute the insect for the bird; and the problem remained the same. I + quote from his letter the passage referring to the trial which he wished + made: + </p> + <p> + 'Allow me to make a suggestion in relation to your wonderful account of + insects finding their way home. I formerly wished to try it with pigeons; + namely, to carry the insects in their paper cornets about a hundred paces + in the opposite direction to that which you intended ultimately to carry + them, but before turning round to return, to put the insects in a circular + box with an axle which could be made to revolve very rapidly first in one + direction and then in another, so as to destroy for a time all sense of + direction in the insects. I have sometimes imagined that animals may feel + in which direction they were at the first start carried.' + </p> + <p> + This method of experimenting seemed to me very ingeniously conceived. + Before going west, I walk eastwards. In the darkness of their paper bags, + the mere fact that I am moving them gives my prisoners a sense of the + direction in which I am taking them. If nothing happened to disturb this + first impression, the insect would be guided by it in returning. This + would explain the homing of my Mason-bees carried to a distance of two or + three miles amid strange surroundings. But, when the insects have been + sufficiently impressed by their conveyance to the east, there comes the + rapid twirl, first this way round, then that. Bewildered by all these + revolutions first in one direction and then in another, the insect does + not know that I have turned round and remains under its original + impression. I am now taking it to the west, when it believes itself to be + still travelling towards the east. Under the influence of this impression; + the insect is bound to lose its bearings. When set free, it will fly in + the opposite direction to its home, which it will never find again. + </p> + <p> + This result seemed to me the more probable inasmuch as the statements of + the country-folk around me were all of a nature to confirm my hopes. + Favier (The author's gardener and factotum. Cf. "The Life of the Fly": + chapter 4.—Translator's Note.), the very man for this sort of + information, was the first to put me on the track. He told me that, when + people want to move a Cat from one farm to another at some distance, they + place the animal in a bag which they twirl rapidly at the moment of + starting, thus preventing the animal from returning to the house which it + has quitted. Many others, besides Favier, described the same practice to + me. According to them, this twirling round in a bag was an infallible + expedient: the bewildered Cat never returned. I communicated what I had + learnt to England, I wrote to the sage of Down and told him how the + peasant had anticipated the researches of science. Charles Darwin was + amazed; so was I; and we both of us almost reckoned on a success. + </p> + <p> + These preliminaries took place in the winter; I had plenty of time to + prepare for the experiment which was to be made in the following May. + </p> + <p> + 'Favier,' I said, one day, to my assistant, 'I shall want some of those + nests. Go and ask our next-door neighbour's leave and climb to the roof of + his shed, with some new tiles and some mortar, which you can fetch from + the builder's. Take a dozen tiles from the roof, those with the biggest + nests on them, and put the new ones in their place.' + </p> + <p> + Things were done accordingly. My neighbour assented with a good grace to + the exchange of tiles, for he himself is obliged, from time to time, to + demolish the work of the Mason-bee, unless he would risk seeing his roof + fall in sooner or later. I was merely forestalling a repair which became + more urgent every year. That same evening, I was in possession of twelve + magnificent rectangular blocks of nest, each lying on the convex surface + of a tile, that is to say, on the surface looking towards the inside of + the shed. I had the curiosity to weigh the largest: it turned the scale at + thirty-five pounds. Now the roof whence it came was covered with similar + masses, adjoining one another, over a stretch of some seventy tiles. + Reckoning only half the weight, so as to strike an average between the + largest and the smallest lumps, we find the total weight of the Bee's + masonry to amount to three-quarters of a ton. And, even so, people tell me + that they have seen this beaten elsewhere. Leave the Mason-bee to her own + devices, in the spot that suits her; allow the work of many generations to + accumulate; and, one fine day, the roof will break down under the extra + burden. Let the nests grow old; let them fall to pieces when the damp gets + into them; and you will have chunks tumbling on your head big enough to + crack your skull. There you see the work of a very little-known insect. + (The insect is so little known that I made a serious mistake when treating + of it in the first volume of these "Souvenirs." Under my erroneous + denomination of Chalicodoma sicula are really comprised two species, one + building its nests in our dwellings and particularly under the tiles of + outhouses, the other building its nests on the branches of shrubs. The + first species has received various names, which are, in order of priority: + Chalicodoma pyrenaica, LEP. (Megachile); Chalicodoma pyrrhopeza, + GERSTACKER; Chalicodoma rufitarsis, GIRAUD. It is a pity that the name + occupying the first place should lend itself to misconception. I hesitate + to apply the epithet of Pyrenean to an insect which is much less common in + the Pyrenees than in my own district. I shall call it the Chalicodoma, or + Mason-bee, of the Sheds. There is no objection to the use of this name in + a book where the reader prefers lucidity to the tyranny of systematic + entomology. The second species, that which builds its nests on the + branches, is Chalicodoma rufescens, J. PEREZ. For a like reason, I shall + call it the Chalicodoma of the Shrubs. I owe these corrections to the + kindness of Professor Jean Perez, of Bordeaux, who is so well-versed in + the lore of Wasps and Bees.—Author's Note.) + </p> + <p> + These treasures were insufficient, not in regard to quantity, but in + regard to quality, for the main object which I had in view. They came from + the nearest house, separated from mine by a little field planted with corn + and olive-trees. I had reason to fear that the insects issuing from those + nests might be hereditarily influenced by their ancestors, who had lived + in the shed for many a long year. The Bee, when carried to a distance, + would perhaps come back, guided by the inveterate family habit; she would + find the shed of her lineal predecessors and thence, without difficulty, + reach her nest. As it is the fashion nowadays to assign a prominent part + to these hereditary influences, I must eliminate them from my experiments. + I want strange Bees, brought from afar, whose return to the place of their + birth can in no way assist their return to the nest transplanted to + another site. + </p> + <p> + Favier took the business in hand. He had discovered on the banks of the + Aygues, at some miles from the village, a deserted hut where the + Mason-bees had established themselves in a numerous colony. He proposed to + take the wheelbarrow, in which to move the blocks of cells; but I + objected: the jolting of the vehicle over the rough paths might jeopardise + the contents of the cells. A basket carried on the shoulder was deemed + safer. Favier took a man to help him and set out. The expedition provided + me with four well-stocked tiles. It was all that the two men were able to + carry between them; and even then I had to stand treat on their arrival: + they were utterly exhausted. Le Vaillant tells us of a nest of Republicans + (Social Weaver-birds.—Translator's Note.) with which he loaded a + wagon drawn by two oxen. My Mason-bee vies with the South-African bird: a + yoke of Oxen would not have been too many to move the whole of that nest + from the banks of the Aygues. + </p> + <p> + The next thing is to place my tiles. I want to have them under my eyes, in + a position where I can watch them easily and save myself the worries of + earlier days: going up and down ladders, standing for hours at a stretch + on a narrow rung that hurt the soles of my feet and risking sunstroke up + against a scorching wall. Moreover, it is necessary that my guests should + feel almost as much at home with me as where they come from. I must make + life pleasant for them, if I should have them grow attached to the new + dwelling. And I happen to have the very thing for them. + </p> + <p> + Under the leads of my house is a wide arch, the sides of which get the + sun, while the back remains in the shade. There is something for + everybody: the shade for me, the sunlight for my boarders. We fasten a + stout hook to each tile and hang it on the wall, on a level with our eyes. + Half my nests are on the right, half on the left. The general effect is + rather original. Any one walking in and seeing my show for the first time + begins by taking it for a display of smoked provisions, gammons of some + outlandish bacon curing in the sun. On perceiving his mistake, he falls + into raptures at these new hives of mine. The news spreads through the + village and more than one pokes fun at it. They look upon me as a keeper + of hybrid Bees: + </p> + <p> + 'I wonder what he's going to make out of that!' say they. + </p> + <p> + My hives are in full swing before the end of April. When the work is at + its height, the swarm becomes a little eddying, buzzing cloud. The arch is + a much-frequented passage: it leads to a store-room for various household + provisions. The members of my family bully me at first for establishing + this dangerous commonwealth within the precincts of our home. They dare + not go to fetch things: they would have to pass through a swarm of Bees; + and then...look out for stings! There is nothing for it but to prove, once + and for all, that the danger does not exist, that mine is a most peaceable + Bee, incapable of stinging so long as she is not startled. I bring my face + close to one of the clay nests, so as almost to touch it, while it is + black with Masons at work; I let my fingers wander through the ranks, I + put a few Bees on my hand, I stand in the thick of the whirling crowd and + never a prick do I receive. I have long known their peaceful character. + Time was when I used to share the common fears, when I hesitated before + venturing into a swarm of Anthophorae or Chalicodomae; nowadays, I have + quite got over those terrors. If you do not tease the insect, the thought + of hurting you will never occur to it. At the worst, a single specimen, + prompted by curiosity rather than anger, will come and hover in front of + your face, examining you with some persistency, but employing a buzz as + her only threat. Let her be: her scrutiny is quite friendly. + </p> + <p> + After a few demonstrations, my household were reassured: all, old and + young, moved in and out of the arch as though there were nothing unusual + about it. My Bees, far from remaining an object of dread, became an object + of diversion; every one took pleasure in watching the progress of their + ingenious work. I was careful not to divulge the secret to strangers. If + any one, coming on business, passed outside the arch while I was standing + before the hanging nests, some such brief dialogue as the following would + take place: + </p> + <p> + 'So they know you; that's why they don't sting you?' + </p> + <p> + 'They certainly know me.' + </p> + <p> + 'And me?' + </p> + <p> + 'Oh, you; that's another matter!' + </p> + <p> + Whereupon the intruder would keep at a respectful distance, which was what + I wanted. + </p> + <p> + It is time that we thought of experimenting. The Mason-bees intended for + the journey must be marked with a sign whereby I may know them. A solution + of gum arabic, thickened with a colouring-powder, red, blue or some other + shade, is the material which I use to mark my travellers. The variety in + hue will save me from confusing the subjects of my different experiments. + </p> + <p> + When making my former investigations, I used to mark the Bees at the place + where I set them free. For this operation, the insects had to be held in + the fingers one after the other; and I was thus exposed to frequent + stings, which smarted all the more for being constantly repeated. The + consequence was that I was not always quite able to control my fingers and + thumbs, to the great detriment of my travellers; for I could easily warp + their wing-joints and thus weaken their flight. It was worth while + improving the method of operation, both in my own interest and in that of + the insect. I must mark the Bee, carry her to a distance and release her, + without taking her in my fingers, without once touching her. The + experiment was bound to gain by these nice precautions. I will describe + the method which I adopted. + </p> + <p> + The Bee is so much engrossed in her work when she buries her abdomen in + the cell and rids herself of her load of pollen, or when she is building, + that it is easy, at such times, without alarming her, to mark the upper + side of the thorax with a straw dipped in the coloured glue. The insect is + not disturbed by that slight touch. It flies off; it returns laden with + mortar or pollen. You allow these trips to be repeated until the mark on + the thorax is quite dry, which soon happens in the hot sun necessary to + the Bee's labours. The next thing is to catch her and imprison her in a + paper bag, still without touching her. Nothing could be easier. You place + a small test-tube over the Bee engrossed in her work; the insect, on + leaving, rushes into it and is thence transferred to the paper bag, which + is forthwith closed and placed in the tin box that will serve as a + conveyance for the whole party. When releasing the Bees, all you have to + do is open the bags. The whole performance is thus effected without once + giving that distressing squeeze of the fingers. + </p> + <p> + Another question remains to be solved before we go further. What + time-limit shall I allow for this census of the Bees that return to the + nest? Let me explain what I mean. The dot which I have made in the middle + of the thorax with a touch of my sticky straw is not very permanent: it + merely adheres to the hairs. At the same time, it would have been no more + lasting if I had held the insect in my fingers. Now the Bee often brushes + her back: she dusts it each time she leaves the galleries; besides, she is + always rubbing her coat against the walls of the cell, which she has to + enter and to leave each time that she brings honey. A Mason-bee, so + smartly dressed at the start, at the end of her work is in rags; her fur + is all worn bare and as tattered as a mechanic's overall. + </p> + <p> + Furthermore, in bad weather, the Mason-bee of the Walls spends the days + and nights in one of the cells of her dome, suspended head downwards. The + Mason-bee of the Sheds, as long as there are vacant galleries, does very + nearly the same: she takes shelter in the galleries, but with her head at + the entrance. Once those old habitations are in use, however, and the + building of new cells begun, she selects another retreat. In the harmas + (The piece of enclosed waste ground on which the author studies his + insects in their natural state. Cf. "The Life of the Fly": chapter 1.—Translator's + Note.), as I have said elsewhere, are stone heaps, intended for building + the surrounding wall. This is where my Chalicodomae pass the night. Piled + up promiscuously, both sexes together, they sleep in numerous companies, + in crevices between two stones laid closely one on top of the other. Some + of these companies number as many as a couple of hundred. The most common + dormitory is a narrow groove. Here they all huddle, as far forward as + possible, with their backs in the groove. I see some lying flat on their + backs, like people asleep. Should bad weather come on, should the sky + cloud over, should the north-wind whistle, they do not stir out. + </p> + <p> + With all these things to take into consideration, I cannot expect my dot + on the Bee's thorax to last any length of time. By day, the constant + brushing and the rubbing against the partitions of the galleries soon wipe + it off; at night, things are worse still, in the narrow sleeping-room + where the Mason-bees take refuge by the hundred. After a night spent in + the crevice between two stones, it is not advisable to trust to the mark + made yesterday. Therefore, the counting of the number of Bees that return + to the nest must be taken in hand at once; tomorrow would be too late. And + so, as it would be impossible for me to recognize those of my subjects + whose dots had disappeared during the night, I will take into account only + the Bees that return on the same day. + </p> + <p> + The question of the rotary machine remains. Darwin advised me to use a + circular box with an axle and a handle. I have nothing of the kind in the + house. It will be simpler and quite as effective to employ the method of + the countryman who tries to lose his Cat by swinging him in a bag. My + insects, each one placed by itself in a paper cornet (A cornet is simply + the old 'sugar-bag,' the funnel-shaped paper bag so common on the + continent and still used occasionally by small grocers and tobacconists in + England.—Translator's Note.) or screw, shall be placed in a tin box; + the screws of paper shall be wedged in so as to avoid collisions during + the rotation; lastly, the box shall be tied to a cord and I will whirl the + whole thing round like a sling. With this contrivance, it will be quite + easy to obtain any rate of speed that I wish, any variety of inverse + movements that I consider likely to make my captives lose their bearings. + I can whirl my sling first in one direction and then in another, turn and + turn about; I can slacken or increase the pace; if I like, I can make it + describe figures of eight, combined with circles; if I spin on my heels at + the same time, I am able to make the process still more complicated by + compelling my sling to trace every known curve. That is what I shall do. + </p> + <p> + On the 2nd of May 1880, I make a white mark on the thorax of ten + Mason-bees busied with various tasks: some are exploring the slabs of clay + in order to select a site; others are brick-laying; others are garnering + stores. When the mark is dry, I catch them and pack them as I have + described. I first carry them a quarter of a mile in the opposite + direction to the one which I intend to take. A path skirting my house + favours this preliminary manoeuvre; I have every hope of being alone when + the time comes to make play with my sling. There is a way-side cross at + the end; I stop at the foot of the cross. Here I swing my Bees in every + direction. Now, while I am making the box describe inverse circles and + loops, while I am pirouetting on my heels to achieve the various curves, + up comes a woman from the village and stares at me. Oh, how she stares at + me, what a look she gives me! At the foot of the cross! Acting in such a + silly way! People talked about it. It was sheer witchcraft. Had I not dug + up a dead body, only a few days before? Yes, I had been to a prehistoric + burial-place, I had taken from it a pair of venerable, well-developed + tibias, a set of funerary vessels and a few shoulders of horse, placed + there as a viaticum for the great journey. I had done this thing; and + people knew it. And now, to crown all, the man of evil reputation is found + at the foot of a cross indulging in unhallowed antics. + </p> + <p> + No matter—and it shows no small courage on my part—the + gyrations are duly accomplished in the presence of this unexpected + witness. Then I retrace my steps and walk westward of Serignan. I take the + least-frequented paths, I cut across country so as, if possible, to avoid + a second meeting. It would be the last straw if I were seen opening my + paper bags and letting loose my insects! When half-way, to make my + experiment more decisive still, I repeat the rotation, in as complicated a + fashion as before. I repeat it for the third time at the spot chosen for + the release. + </p> + <p> + I am at the end of a flint-strewn plain, with here and there a scanty + curtain of almond-trees and holm-oaks. Walking at a good pace, I have + taken thirty minutes to cover the ground in a straight line. The distance + therefore is, roughly, two miles. It is a fine day, under a clear sky, + with a very light breeze blowing from the north. I sit down on the ground, + facing the south, so that the insects may be free to take either the + direction of their nest or the opposite one. I let them loose at a quarter + past two. When the bags are opened, the Bees, for the most part, circle + several times around me and then dart off impetuously in the direction of + Serignan, as far as I can judge. It is not easy to watch them, because + they fly off suddenly, after going two or three times round my body, a + suspicious-looking object which they wish, apparently, to reconnoitre + before starting. A quarter of an hour later, my eldest daughter, Antonia, + who is on the look-out beside the nests, sees the first traveller arrive. + On my return, in the course of the evening, two others come back. Total: + three home on the same day, out of ten scattered abroad. + </p> + <p> + I resume the experiment next morning. I mark ten Mason-bees with red, + which will enable me to distinguish them from those who returned on the + day before and from those who may still return with the white spot + uneffaced. The same precautions, the same rotations, the same localities + as on the first occasion; only, I make no rotation on the way, confining + myself to swinging my box round on leaving and on arriving. The insects + are released at a quarter past eleven. I preferred the forenoon, as this + was the busiest time at the works. One Bee was seen by Antonia to be back + at the nest by twenty minutes past eleven. Supposing her to be the first + let loose, it took her just five minutes to cover the distance. But there + is nothing to tell me that it is not another, in which case she needed + less. It is the fastest speed that I have succeeded in noting. I myself am + back at twelve and, within a short time, catch three others. I see no more + during the rest of the evening. Total: four home, out of ten. + </p> + <p> + The 4th of May is a very bright, calm, warm day, weather highly propitious + for my experiments. I take fifty Chalicodomae marked with blue. The + distance to be travelled remains the same. I make the first rotation after + carrying my insects a few hundred steps in the direction opposite to that + which I finally take; in addition, three rotations on the road; a fifth + rotation at the place where they are set free. If they do not lose their + bearings this time, it will not be for lack of twisting and turning. I + begin to open my screws of paper at twenty minutes past nine. It is rather + early, for which reason my Bees, on recovering their liberty, remain for a + moment undecided and lazy; but, after a short sunbath on a stone where I + place them, they take wing. I am sitting on the ground, facing the south, + with Serignan on my left and Piolenc on my right. When the flight is not + too swift to allow me to perceive the direction taken, I see my released + captives disappear to my left. A few, but only a few, go south; two or + three go west, or to right of me. I do not speak of the north, against + which I act as a screen. All told, the great majority take the left, that + is to say, the direction of the nest. The last is released at twenty + minutes to ten. One of the fifty travellers has lost her mark in the paper + bag. I deduct her from the total, leaving forty-nine. + </p> + <p> + According to Antonia, who watches the home-coming, the earliest arrivals + appeared at twenty-five minutes to ten, say fifteen minutes after the + first was set free. By twelve o'clock mid-day, there are eleven back; and, + by four o'clock in the evening, seventeen. That ends the census. Total: + seventeen, out of forty-nine. + </p> + <p> + I resolved upon a fourth experiment, on the 14th of May. The weather is + glorious, with a light northerly breeze. I take twenty Mason-bees, marked + in pink, at eight o'clock in the morning. Rotations at the start, after a + preliminary backing in a direction opposite to that which I intend to + take; two rotations on the road; a fourth on arriving. All those whose + flight I am able to follow with my eyes turn to my left, that is to say, + towards Serignan. Yet I had taken care to leave the choice free between + the two opposite directions: in particular, I had sent away my Dog, who + was on my right. To-day, the Bees do not circle round me: some fly away at + once; the others, the greater number, feeling giddy perhaps after the + pitching of the journey and the rolling of the sling, alight on the ground + a few yards away, seem to wait until they are somewhat recovered and then + fly off to the left. I perceived this to be the general flight, whenever I + was able to observe at all. I was back at a quarter to ten. Two Bees with + pink marks were there before me, of whom one was engaged in building, with + her pellet of mortar in her mandibles. By one o'clock in the afternoon + there were seven arrivals; I saw no more during the rest of the day. + Total: seven out of twenty. + </p> + <p> + Let us be satisfied with this: the experiment has been repeated often + enough, but it does not conclude as Darwin hoped, as I myself hoped, + especially after what I had been told about the Cat. In vain, adopting the + advice given, do I carry my insects first in the opposite direction to the + place at which I intend to release them; in vain, when about to retrace my + steps, do I twirl my sling with every complication in the way of whirls + and twists that I am able to imagine; in vain, thinking to increase the + difficulties, do I repeat the rotation as often as five times over: at the + start, on the road, on arriving; it makes no difference: the Mason-bees + return; and the proportion of returns on the same day fluctuates between + thirty and forty per cent. It goes to my heart to abandon an idea + suggested by so famous a man of science and cherished all the more readily + inasmuch as I thought it likely to provide a final solution. The facts are + there, more eloquent than any number of ingenious views; and the problem + remains as mysterious as ever. + </p> + <p> + In the following year, 1881, I began experimenting again, but in a + different way. Hitherto, I had worked on the level. To return to the nest, + my lost Bees had only to cross slight obstacles, the hedges and spinneys + of the tilled fields. To-day, I propose to add to the difficulties of + distance those of the ground to be traversed. Discontinuing all my + backing- and whirling-tactics, things which I recognize as useless, I + think of releasing my Chalicodomae in the thick of the Serignan Woods. How + will they escape from that labyrinth, where, in the early days, I needed a + compass to find my way? Moreover, I shall have an assistant with me, a + pair of eyes younger than mine and better-fitted to follow my insects' + first flight. That immediate start in the direction of the nest has + already been repeated very often and is beginning to interest me more than + the return itself. A pharmaceutical student, spending a few days with my + parents, shall be my eyewitness. With him, I shall feel at ease; science + and he are no strangers. + </p> + <p> + The trip to the woods takes place on the 16th of May. The weather is hot + and hints at a coming storm. There is a perceptible breeze from the south, + but not enough to upset my travellers. Forty Mason-bees are caught. To + shorten the preparations, because of the distance, I do not mark them + while they are on the nests; I shall mark them at the starting-point, as I + release them. It is the old method, prolific of stings; but I prefer it + to-day, in order to save time. It takes me an hour to reach the place. The + distance, therefore, allowing for windings, is about three miles. + </p> + <p> + The site selected must permit me to recognize the direction of the + insects' first flight. I choose a clearing in the middle of the copses. + All around is a great expanse of dense woods, shutting out the horizon on + every side; on the south, in the direction of the nests, a curtain of + hills rises to a height of some three hundred feet above the spot at which + I stand. The wind is not strong, but it is blowing in the opposite + direction to that which my insects will have to take in order to reach + their home. I turn my back on Serignan, so that, when leaving my fingers, + the Bees, to return to the nest, will be obliged to fly sideways, to right + and left of me; I mark the insects and release them one by one. I begin + operations at twenty minutes past ten. + </p> + <p> + One half of the Bees seem rather indolent, flutter about for a while, drop + to the ground, appear to recover their spirits and then start off. The + other half show greater decision. Although the insects have to fight + against the soft wind that is blowing from the south, they make straight + for the nest. All go south, after describing a few circles, a few loops, + around us. There is no exception in the case of any of those whose + departure we are able to follow. The fact is noted by myself and my + colleague beyond dispute or doubt. My Mason-bees head for the south as + though some compass told them which way the wind was blowing. + </p> + <p> + I am back at twelve o'clock. None of the strays is at the nest; but, a few + minutes later, I catch two. At two o'clock, the number has increased to + nine. But now the sky clouds over, the wind freshens and the storm is + approaching. We can no longer rely on any further arrivals. Total: nine + out of forty, or twenty-two per cent. + </p> + <p> + The proportion is smaller than in the former cases, when it varied between + thirty and forty per cent. Must we attribute this result to the + difficulties to be overcome? Can the Mason-bees have lost their way in the + maze of the forest? It is safer not to give an opinion: other causes + intervened which may have decreased the number of those who returned. I + marked the insects at the starting-place; I handled them; and I am not + prepared to say that they were all in the best of condition on leaving my + stung and smarting fingers. Besides, the sky has become overcast, a storm + is imminent. In the month of May, so variable, so fickle, in my part of + the world, we can hardly ever count on a whole day of fine weather. A + splendid morning is swiftly followed by a fitful afternoon; and my + experiments with Mason-bees have often suffered by these variations. All + things considered, I am inclined to think that the homeward journey across + the forest and the mountain is effected just as readily as across the + corn-fields and the plain. + </p> + <p> + I have one last resource left whereby to try and put my Bees out of their + latitude. I will first take them to a great distance; then, describing a + wide curve, I will return by another road and release my captives when I + am near enough to the village, say, about two miles. A conveyance is + necessary, this time. My collaborator of the day in the woods offers me + the use of his gig. The two of us set off, with fifteen Mason-bees, along + the road to Orange, until we come to the viaduct. Here, on the right, is + the straight ribbon of the old Roman road, the Via Domitia. We take it, + driving north towards the Uchaux Mountains, the classic home of superb + Turonian fossils. We next turn back towards Serignan, by the Piolenc Road. + A halt is made by the stretch of country known as Font-Claire, the + distance from which to the village is about one mile and five furlongs. + The reader can easily follow my route on the ordnance-survey map; and he + will see that the loop described measures not far short of five miles and + a half. + </p> + <p> + At the same time, Favier came and joined me at Font-Claire, by the direct + road, the one that runs through Piolenc. He brought with him fifteen + Mason-bees, intended for purposes of comparison with mine. I am therefore + in possession of two sets of insects. Fifteen, marked in pink, have taken + the five-mile bend; fifteen, marked in blue, have come by the straight + road, the shortest road for returning to the nest. The weather is warm, + exceedingly bright and very calm; I could not hope for a better day for my + experiment. The insects are given their freedom at mid-day. + </p> + <p> + At five o'clock, the arrivals number seven of the pink Mason-bees, whom I + thought that I had bewildered by a long and circuitous drive, and six of + the blue Mason-bees, who came to Font-Claire by the direct route. The two + proportions, forty-six and forty per cent., are almost equal; and the + slight excess in favour of the insects that went the roundabout way is + evidently an accidental result which we need not take into consideration. + The bend described cannot have helped them to find their way home; but it + has also certainly not hampered them. + </p> + <p> + There is no need of further proof. The intricate movements of a rotation + such as I have described; the obstacle of hills and woods; the pitfalls of + a road which moves on, moves back and returns after making a wide circuit: + none of these is able to disconcert the Chalicodomae or prevent them from + going back to the nest. + </p> + <p> + I had written to Charles Darwin telling him of my first, negative results, + those obtained by swinging the Bees in a box. He expected a success and + was much surprised at the failure. Had he had time to experiment with his + Pigeons, they would have behaved just like my Bees; the preliminary + twirling would not have affected them. The problem called for another + method; and what he proposed was this: + </p> + <p> + 'To place the insect within an induction coil, so as to disturb any + magnetic or diamagnetic sensibility which it seems just possible that they + may possess.' + </p> + <p> + To treat an insect as you would a magnetic needle and to subject it to the + current from an induction coil in order to disturb its magnetism or + diamagnetism appeared to me, I must confess, a curious notion, worthy of + an imagination in the last ditch. I have but little confidence in our + physics, when they pretend to explain life; nevertheless, my respect for + the great man would have made me resort to the induction-coils, if I had + possessed the necessary apparatus. But my village boasts no scientific + resources: if I want an electric spark, I am reduced to rubbing a sheet of + paper on my knees. My physics cupboard contains a magnet; and that is + about all. When this penury was realised, another method was suggested, + simpler than the first and more certain in its results, as Darwin himself + considered: + </p> + <p> + 'To make a very thin needle into a magnet; then breaking it into very + short pieces, which would still be magnetic, and fastening one of these + pieces with some cement on the thorax of the insects to be experimented + on. I believe that such a little magnet, from its close proximity to the + nervous system of the insect, would affect it more than would the + terrestrial currents.' + </p> + <p> + There is still the same idea of turning the insect into a sort of bar + magnet. The terrestrial currents guide it when returning to the nest. It + becomes a living compass which, withdrawn from the action of the earth by + the proximity of a loadstone, loses its sense of direction. With a tiny + magnet fastened on its thorax, parallel with the nervous system and more + powerful than the terrestrial magnetism by reason of its comparative + nearness, the insect will lose its bearings. Naturally, in setting down + these lines, I take shelter behind the mighty reputation of the learned + begetter of the idea. It would not be accepted as serious coming from a + humble person like myself. Obscurity cannot afford these audacious + theories. + </p> + <p> + The experiment seems easy; it is not beyond the means at my disposal. Let + us attempt it. I magnetise a very fine needle by rubbing it with my bar + magnet; I retain only the slenderest part, the point, some five or six + millimetres long. (.2 to.23 inch.—Translator's Note.) This broken + piece is a perfect magnet: it attracts and repels another magnetised + needle hanging from a thread. I am a little puzzled as to the best way to + fasten it on the insect's thorax. My assistant of the moment, the + pharmaceutical student, requisitions all the adhesives in his laboratory. + The best is a sort of cerecloth which he prepares specially with a very + fine material. It possesses the advantage that it can be softened at the + bowl of one's pipe when the time comes to operate out of doors. + </p> + <p> + I cut out of this cerecloth a small square the size of the Bee's thorax; + and I insert the magnetised point through a few threads of the material. + All that we now have to do is to soften the gum a little and then dab the + thing at once on the Mason-bee's back, so that the broken needle runs + parallel with the spine. Other engines of the same kind are prepared and + due note taken of their poles, so as to enable me to point the south pole + at the insect's head in some cases and at the opposite end in others. + </p> + <p> + My assistant and I begin by rehearsing the performance; we must have a + little practice before trying the experiment away from home. Besides, I + want to see how the insect will behave in its magnetic harness. I take a + Mason-bee at work in her cell, which I mark. I carry her to my study, at + the other end of the house. The magnetised outfit is fastened on the + thorax; and the insect is let go. The moment she is free, the Bee drops to + the ground and rolls about, like a mad thing, on the floor of the room. + She resumes her flight, flops down again, turns over on her side, on her + back, knocks against the things in her way, buzzes noisily, flings herself + about desperately and ends by darting through the open window in headlong + flight. + </p> + <p> + What does it all mean? The magnet appears to have a curious effect on my + patient's system! What a fuss she makes! How terrified she is! The Bee + seemed utterly distraught at losing her bearings under the influence of my + knavish tricks. Let us go to the nests and see what happens. We have not + long to wait: my insect returns, but rid of its magnetic tackle. I + recognize it by the traces of gum that still cling to the hair of the + thorax. It goes back to its cell and resumes its labours. + </p> + <p> + Always on my guard when searching the unknown, unwilling to draw + conclusions before weighing the arguments for and against, I feel doubt + creeping in upon me with regard to what I have seen. Was it really the + magnetic influence that disturbed my Bee so strangely? When she struggled + and kicked on the floor, fighting wildly with both legs and wings, when + she fled in terror, was she under the sway of the magnet fastened on her + back? Can my appliance have thwarted the guiding influence of the + terrestrial currents on her nervous system? Or was her distress merely the + result of an unwonted harness? This is what remains to be seen and that + without delay. + </p> + <p> + I construct a new apparatus, but provide it with a short straw in place of + the magnet. The insect carrying it on its back rolls on the ground, kicks + and flings herself about like the first, until the irksome contrivance is + removed, taking with it a part of the fur on the thorax. The straw + produces the same effects as the magnet, in other words, magnetism had + nothing to do with what happened. My invention, in both cases alike, is a + cumbrous tackle of which the Bee tries to rid herself at once by every + possible means. To look to her for normal actions so long as she carries + an apparatus, magnetized or not, upon her back is the same as expecting to + study the natural habits of a Dog after tying a kettle to his tail. + </p> + <p> + The experiment with the magnet is impracticable. What would it tell us if + the insect consented to it? In my opinion, it would tell us nothing. In + the matter of the homing instinct, a magnet would have no more influence + than a bit of straw. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 5. THE STORY OF MY CATS. + </h2> + <p> + If this swinging-process fails entirely when its object is to make the + insect lose its bearings, what influence can it have upon the Cat? Is the + method of whirling the animal round in a bag, to prevent its return, + worthy of confidence? I believed in it at first, so close-allied was it to + the hopeful idea suggested by the great Darwin. But my faith is now + shaken: my experience with the insect makes me doubtful of the Cat. If the + former returns after being whirled, why should not the latter? I therefore + embark upon fresh experiments. + </p> + <p> + And, first of all, to what extent does the Cat deserve his reputation of + being able to return to the beloved home, to the scenes of his amorous + exploits on the tiles and in the hay-lofts? The most curious facts are + told of his instinct; children's books on natural history abound with + feats that do the greatest credit to his prowess as a pilgrim. I do not + attach much importance to these stories: they come from casual observers, + uncritical folk given to exaggeration. It is not everybody who can talk + about animals correctly. When some one not of the craft gets on the + subject and says to me, 'Such or such an animal is black,' I begin by + finding out if it does not happen to be white; and many a time the truth + is discovered in the converse proposition. Men come to me and sing the + praises of the Cat as a travelling-expert. Well and good: we will now look + upon the Cat as a poor traveller. And that would be the extent of my + knowledge if I had only the evidence of books and of people unaccustomed + to the scruples of scientific examination. Fortunately, I am acquainted + with a few incidents that will stand the test of my incredulity. The Cat + really deserves his reputation as a discerning pilgrim. Let us relate + these incidents. + </p> + <p> + One day—it was at Avignon—there appeared upon the garden-wall + a wretched-looking Cat, with matted coat and protruding ribs, so thin that + his back was a mere jagged ridge. He was mewing with hunger. My children, + at that time very young, took pity on his misery. Bread soaked in milk was + offered him at the end of a reed. He took it. And the mouthfuls succeeded + one another to such good purpose that he was sated and went off, heedless + of the 'Puss! Puss!' of his compassionate friends. Hunger returned; and + the starveling reappeared in his wall-top refectory. He received the same + fare of bread soaked in milk, the same soft words. He allowed himself to + be tempted. He came down from the wall. The children were able to stroke + his back. Goodness, how thin he was! + </p> + <p> + It was the great topic of conversation. We discussed it at table: we would + tame the vagabond, we would keep him, we would make him a bed of hay. It + was a most important matter: I can see to this day, I shall always see the + council of rattleheads deliberating on the Cat's fate. They were not + satisfied until the savage animal remained. Soon he grew into a + magnificent Tom. His large round head, his muscular legs, his reddish fur, + flecked with darker patches, reminded one of a little jaguar. He was + christened Ginger because of his tawny hue. A mate joined him later, + picked up in almost similar circumstances. Such was the origin of my + series of Gingers, which I have retained for little short of twenty years + through the vicissitudes of my various removals. + </p> + <p> + The first of these removals took place in 1870. A little earlier, a + minister who has left a lasting memory in the University, that fine man, + Victor Duruy (Jean Victor Duruy (1811-1894), author of a number of + historical works, including a well-known "Histoire des Romains", and + minister of public instruction under Napoleon III. from 1863 to 1869. Cf. + "The Life of the Fly": chapter 20.—Translator's Note.), had + instituted classes for the secondary education of girls. This was the + beginning, as far as was then possible, of the burning question of to-day. + I very gladly lent my humble aid to this labour of light. I was put to + teach physical and natural science. I had faith and was not sparing of + work, with the result that I rarely faced a more attentive or interested + audience. The days on which the lessons fell were red-letter days, + especially when the lesson was botany and the table disappeared from view + under the treasures of the neighbouring conservatories. + </p> + <p> + That was going too far. In fact, you can see how heinous my crime was: I + taught those young persons what air and water are; whence the lightning + comes and the thunder; by what device our thoughts are transmitted across + the seas and continents by means of a metal wire; why fire burns and why + we breathe; how a seed puts forth shoots and how a flower blossoms: all + eminently hateful things in the eyes of some people, whose feeble eyes are + dazzled by the light of day. + </p> + <p> + The little lamp must be put out as quickly as possible and measures taken + to get rid of the officious person who strove to keep it alight. The + scheme was darkly plotted with the old maids who owned my house and who + saw the abomination of desolation in these new educational methods. I had + no written agreement to protect me. The bailiff appeared with a notice on + stamped paper. It baldly informed that I must move out within four weeks + from date, failing which the law would turn my goods and chattels into the + street. I had hurriedly to provide myself with a dwelling. The first house + which we found happened to be at Orange. Thus was my exodus from Avignon + effected. + </p> + <p> + We were somewhat anxious about the moving of the Cats. We were all of us + attached to them and should have thought it nothing short of criminal to + abandon the poor creatures, whom we had so often petted, to distress and + probably to thoughtless persecution. The shes and the kittens would travel + without any trouble: all you have to do is to put them in a basket; they + will keep quiet on the journey. But the old Tom-cats were a serious + problem. I had two: the head of the family, the patriarch; and one of his + descendants, quite as strong as himself. We decided to take the grandsire, + if he consented to come, and to leave the grandson behind, after finding + him a home. + </p> + <p> + My friend Dr. Loriol offered to take charge of the forsaken one. The + animal was carried to him at nightfall in a closed hamper. Hardly were we + seated at the evening-meal, talking of the good fortune of our Tom-cat, + when we saw a dripping mass jump through the window. The shapeless bundle + came and rubbed itself against our legs, purring with happiness. It was + the Cat. + </p> + <p> + I learnt his story next day. On arriving at Dr. Loriol's, he was locked up + in a bedroom. The moment he saw himself a prisoner in the unfamiliar room, + he began to jump about wildly on the furniture, against the window-panes, + among the ornaments on the mantelpiece, threatening to make short work of + everything. Mme. Loriol was frightened by the little lunatic; she hastened + to open the window; and the Cat leapt out among the passers-by. A few + minutes later, he was back at home. And it was no easy matter: he had to + cross the town almost from end to end; he had to make his way through a + long labyrinth of crowded streets, amid a thousand dangers, including + first boys and next dogs; lastly—and this perhaps was an even more + serious obstacle—he had to pass over the Sorgue, a river running + through Avignon. There were bridges at hand, many, in fact; but the + animal, taking the shortest cut, had used none of them, bravely jumping + into the water, as its streaming fur showed. I had pity on the poor Cat, + so faithful to his home. We agreed to do our utmost to take him with us. + We were spared the worry: a few days later, he was found lying stiff and + stark under a shrub in the garden. The plucky animal had fallen a victim + to some stupid act of spite. Some one had poisoned him for me. Who? It is + not likely that it was a friend! + </p> + <p> + There remained the old Cat. He was not indoors when we started; he was + prowling round the hay-lofts of the neighbourhood. The carrier was + promised an extra ten francs if he brought the Cat to Orange with one of + the loads which he had still to convey. On his last journey he brought him + stowed away under the driver's seat. I scarcely knew my old Tom when we + opened the moving prison in which he had been confined since the day + before. He came out looking a most alarming beast, scratching and + spitting, with bristling hair, bloodshot eyes, lips white with foam. I + thought him mad and watched him closely for a time. I was wrong: it was + merely the fright of a bewildered animal. Had there been trouble with the + carrier when he was caught? Did he have a bad time on the journey? History + is silent on both points. What I do know is that the very nature of the + Cat seemed changed: there was no more friendly purring, no more rubbing + against our legs; nothing but a wild expression and the deepest gloom. + Kind treatment could not soothe him. For a few weeks longer, he dragged + his wretched existence from corner to corner; then, one day, I found him + lying dead in the ashes on the hearth. Grief, with the help of old age, + had killed him. Would he have gone back to Avignon, had he had the + strength? I would not venture to affirm it. But, at least, I think it very + remarkable that an animal should let itself die of home-sickness because + the infirmities of age prevent it from returning to its old haunts. + </p> + <p> + What the patriarch could not attempt, we shall see another do, over a much + shorter distance, I admit. A fresh move is resolved upon, that I may have, + at length, the peace and quiet essential to my work. This time, I hope + that it will be the last. I leave Orange for Serignan. + </p> + <p> + The family of Gingers has been renewed: the old ones have passed away, new + ones have come, including a full-grown Tom, worthy in all respects of his + ancestors. He alone will give us some difficulty; the others, the babies + and the mothers, can be removed without trouble. We put them into baskets. + The Tom has one to himself, so that the peace may be kept. The journey is + made by carriage, in company with my family. Nothing striking happens + before our arrival. Released from their hampers, the females inspect the + new home, explore the rooms one by one; with their pink noses they + recognize the furniture: they find their own seats, their own tables, + their own arm-chairs; but the surroundings are different. They give little + surprised miaows and questioning glances. A few caresses and a saucer of + milk allay all their apprehensions; and, by the next day, the mother Cats + are acclimatised. + </p> + <p> + It is a different matter with the Tom. We house him in the attics, where + he will find ample room for his capers; we keep him company, to relieve + the weariness of captivity; we take him a double portion of plates to + lick; from time to time, we place him in touch with some of his family, to + show him that he is not alone in the house; we pay him a host of + attentions, in the hope of making him forget Orange. He appears, in fact, + to forget it: he is gentle under the hand that pets him, he comes when + called, purrs, arches his back. It is well: a week of seclusion and kindly + treatment have banished all notions of returning. Let us give him his + liberty. He goes down to the kitchen, stands by the table like the others, + goes out into the garden, under the watchful eye of Aglae, who does not + lose sight of him; he prowls all around with the most innocent air. He + comes back. Victory! The Tom-cat will not run away. + </p> + <p> + Next morning: + </p> + <p> + 'Puss! Puss!' + </p> + <p> + Not a sign of him! We hunt, we call. Nothing. Oh, the hypocrite, the + hypocrite! How he has tricked us! He has gone, he is at Orange. None of + those about me can believe in this venturesome pilgrimage. I declare that + the deserter is at this moment at Orange mewing outside the empty house. + </p> + <p> + Aglae and Claire went to Orange. They found the Cat, as I said they would, + and brought him back in a hamper. His paws and belly were covered with red + clay; and yet the weather was dry, there was no mud. The Cat, therefore, + must have got wet crossing the Aygues torrent; and the moist fur had kept + the red earth of the fields through which he passed. The distance from + Serignan to Orange, in a straight line, is four and a half miles. There + are two bridges over the Aygues, one above and one below that line, some + distance away. The Cat took neither the one nor the other: his instinct + told him the shortest road and he followed that road, as his belly, + covered with red mud, proved. He crossed the torrent in May, at a time + when the rivers run high; he overcame his repugnance to water in order to + return to his beloved home. The Avignon Tom did the same when crossing the + Sorgue. + </p> + <p> + The deserter was reinstated in his attic at Serignan. He stayed there for + a fortnight; and at last we let him out. Twenty-four hours had not elapsed + before he was back at Orange. We had to abandon him to his unhappy fate. A + neighbour living out in the country, near my former house, told me that he + saw him one day hiding behind a hedge with a rabbit in his mouth. Once no + longer provided with food, he, accustomed to all the sweets of a Cat's + existence, turned poacher, taking toll of the farm-yards round about my + old home. I heard no more of him. He came to a bad end, no doubt: he had + become a robber and must have met with a robber's fate. + </p> + <p> + The experiment has been made and here is the conclusion, twice proved. + Full-grown Cats can find their way home, in spite of the distance and + their complete ignorance of the intervening ground. They have, in their + own fashion, the instinct of my Mason-bees. A second point remains to be + cleared up, that of the swinging motion in the bag. Are they thrown out of + their latitude by this stratagem, are or they not? I was thinking of + making some experiments, when more precise information arrived and taught + me that it was not necessary. The first who acquainted me with the method + of the revolving bag was telling the story told him by a second person, + who repeated the story of a third, a story related on the authority of a + fourth; and so on. None had tried it, none had seen it for himself. It is + a tradition of the country-side. One and all extol it as an infallible + method, without, for the most part, having attempted it. And the reason + which they give for its success is, in their eyes, conclusive. If, say + they, we ourselves are blind-folded and then spin round for a few seconds, + we no longer know where we are. Even so with the Cat carried off in the + darkness of the swinging bag. They argue from man to the animal, just as + others argue from the animal to man: a faulty method in either case, if + there really be two distinct psychic worlds. + </p> + <p> + The belief would not be so deep-rooted in the peasant's mind, if facts had + not from time to time confirmed it. But we may assume that, in successful + cases, the Cats made to lose their bearings were young and unemancipated + animals. With those neophytes, a drop of milk is enough to dispel the + grief of exile. They do not return home, whether they have been whirled in + a bag or not. People have thought it as well to subject them to the + whirling operation by way of an additional precaution; and the method has + received the credit of a success that has nothing to do with it. In order + to test the method properly, it should have been tried on a full-grown + Cat, a genuine Tom. + </p> + <p> + I did in the end get the evidence which I wanted on this point. + Intelligent and trustworthy people, not given to jumping to conclusions, + have told me that they have tried the trick of the swinging bag to keep + Cats from returning to their homes. None of them succeeded when the animal + was full-grown. Though carried to a great distance, into another house, + and subjected to a conscientious series of revolutions, the Cat always + came back. I have in mind more particularly a destroyer of the Goldfish in + a fountain, who, when transported from Serignan to Piolenc, according to + the time-honoured method, returned to his fish; who, when carried into the + mountain and left in the woods, returned once more. The bag and the + swinging round proved of no avail; and the miscreant had to be put to + death. I have verified a fair number of similar instances, all under most + favourable conditions. The evidence is unanimous: the revolving motion + never keeps the adult Cat from returning home. The popular belief, which I + found so seductive at first, is a country prejudice, based upon imperfect + observation. We must, therefore, abandon Darwin's idea when trying to + explain the homing of the Cat as well as of the Mason-bee. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 6. THE RED ANTS. + </h2> + <p> + The Pigeon transported for hundreds of miles is able to find his way back + to his Dove-cot; the Swallow, returning from his winter quarters in + Africa, crosses the sea and once more takes possession of the old nest. + What guides them on these long journeys? Is it sight? An observer of + supreme intelligence, one who, though surpassed by others in the knowledge + of the stuffed animal under a glass case, is almost unrivalled in his + knowledge of the live animal in its wild state, Toussenel (Alphonse + Toussenel (1803-1885), the author of a number of interesting and valuable + works on ornithology.—Translator's Note.), the admirable writer of + "L'Esprit des betes", speaks of sight and meteorology as the + Carrier-pigeon's guides: + </p> + <p> + 'The French bird,' he says, 'knows by experience that the cold weather + comes from the north, the hot from the south, the dry from the east and + the wet from the west. That is enough meteorological knowledge to tell him + the cardinal points and to direct his flight. The Pigeon taken in a closed + basket from Brussels to Toulouse has certainly no means of reading the map + of the route with his eyes; but no one can prevent him from feeling, by + the warmth of the atmosphere, that he is pursuing the road to the south. + When restored to liberty at Toulouse, he already knows that the direction + which he must follow to regain his Dove-cot is the direction of the north. + Therefore he wings straight in that direction and does not stop until he + nears those latitudes where the mean temperature is that of the zone which + he inhabits. If he does not find his home at the first onset, it is + because he has borne a little too much to the right or to the left. In any + case, it takes him but a few hours' search in an easterly or westerly + direction to correct his mistake.' + </p> + <p> + The explanation is a tempting one when the journey is taken north and + south; but it does not apply to a journey east and west, on the same + isothermal line. Besides, it has this defect, that it does not admit of + generalization. One cannot talk of sight and still less of the influence + of a change of climate when a Cat returns home, from one end of a town to + the other, threading his way through a labyrinth of streets and alleys + which he sees for the first time. Nor is it sight that guides my + Mason-bees, especially when they are let loose in the thick of a wood. + Their low flight, eight or nine feet above the ground, does not allow them + to take a panoramic view nor to gather the lie of the land. What need have + they of topography? Their hesitation is short-lived: after describing a + few narrow circles around the experimenter, they start in the direction of + the nest, despite the cover of the forest, despite the screen of a tall + chain of hills which they cross by mounting the slope at no great height + from the ground. Sight enables them to avoid obstacles, without giving + them a general idea of their road. Nor has meteorology aught to do with + the case: the climate has not varied in those few miles of transit. My + Mason-bees have not learnt from any experience of heat, cold, dryness and + damp: an existence of a few weeks' duration does not allow of this. And, + even if they knew all about the four cardinal points, there is no + difference in climate between the spot where their nest lies and the spot + at which they are released; so that does not help them to settle the + direction in which they are to travel. + </p> + <p> + To explain these many mysteries, we are driven therefore to appeal to yet + another mystery, that is to say, a special sense denied to mankind. + Charles Darwin, whose weighty authority no one will gainsay, arrives at + the same conclusion. To ask if the animal be not impressed by the + terrestrial currents, to enquire if it be not influenced by the close + proximity of a magnetic needle: what is this but the recognition of a + magnetic sense? Do we possess a similar faculty? I am speaking, of course, + of the magnetism of the physicists and not of the magnetism of the Mesmers + and Cagliostros. Assuredly we possess nothing remotely like it. What need + would the mariner have of a compass, were he himself a compass? + </p> + <p> + And this is what the great scientist acknowledges: a special sense, so + foreign to our organism that we are not able to form a conception of it, + guides the Pigeon, the Swallow, the Cat, the Mason-bee and a host of + others when away from home. Whether this sense be magnetic or no I will + not take upon myself to decide; I am content to have helped, in no small + degree, to establish its existence. A new sense added to our number: what + an acquisition, what a source of progress! Why are we deprived of it? It + would have been a fine weapon and of great service in the struggle for + life. If, as is contended, the whole of the animal kingdom, including man, + is derived from a single mould, the original cell, and becomes + self-evolved in the course of time, favouring the best-endowed and leaving + the less well-endowed to perish, how comes it that this wonderful sense is + the portion of a humble few and that it has left no trace in man, the + culminating achievement of the zoological progression? Our precursors were + very ill-advised to let so magnificent an inheritance go: it was better + worth keeping than a vertebra of the coccyx or a hair of the moustache. + </p> + <p> + Does not the fact that this sense has not been handed down to us point to + a flaw in the pedigree? I submit the little problem to the evolutionists; + and I should much like to know what their protoplasm and their nucleus + have to say to it. + </p> + <p> + Is this unknown sense localized in a particular part of the Wasp and the + Bee? Is it exercised by means of a special organ? We immediately think of + the antennae. The antennae are what we always fall back upon when the + insect's actions are not quite clear to us; we gladly put down to them + whatever is most necessary to our arguments. For that matter, I had plenty + of fairly good reasons for suspecting them of containing the sense of + direction. When the Hairy Ammophila (A Sand-wasp who hunts the Grey Worm, + or Caterpillar of the Turnip-moth, to serve as food for her grubs. For + other varieties of the Ammophila, cf. "Insect Life": chapter 15.—Translator's + Note.) is searching for the Grey Worm, it is with her antennae, those tiny + fingers continually fumbling at the soil, that she seems to recognize the + presence of the underground prey. Could not those inquisitive filaments, + which seem to guide the insect when hunting, also guide it when + travelling? This remained to be seen; and I did see. + </p> + <p> + I took some Mason-bees and amputated their antennae with the scissors, as + closely as I could. These maimed ones were then carried to a distance and + released. They returned to the nest with as little difficulty as the + others. I once experimented in the same way with the largest of our + Cerceres (Cerceris tuberculata) (Another Hunting Wasp, who feeds her young + on Weevils. Cf. "Insect Life": chapters 4 and 5.—Translator's + Note.); and the Weevil-huntress returned to her galleries. This rids us of + one hypothesis: the sense of direction is not exercised by the antennae. + Then where is its seat? I do not know. + </p> + <p> + What I do know is that the Mason-bees without antennae, though they go + back to the cells, do not resume work. They persist in flying in front of + their masonry, they alight on the clay cup, they perch on the rim of the + cell and there, seemingly pensive and forlorn, stand for a long time + contemplating the work which will never be finished; they go off, they + come back, they drive away any importunate neighbour, but they fetch and + carry no more honey or mortar. The next day, they do not appear. Deprived + of her tools, the worker loses all heart in her task. When the Mason-bee + is building, the antennae are constantly feeling, fumbling and exploring, + superintending, as it were, the finishing touches given to the work. They + are her instruments of precision; they represent the builder's compasses, + square, level and plumb-line. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto my experiments have been confined to the females, who are much + more faithful to the nest by virtue of their maternal responsibilities. + What would the males do if they were taken from home? I have no great + confidence in these swains who, for a few days, form a tumultuous throng + outside the nests, wait for the females to emerge, quarrel for their + possession, amid endless brawls, and then disappear when the works are in + full swing. What care they, I ask myself, about returning to the natal + nest rather than settling elsewhere, provided that they find some + recipient for their amatory declarations? I was mistaken: the males do + return to the nest. It is true that, in view of their lack of strength, I + did not subject them to a long journey: about half a mile or so. + Nevertheless, this represented to them a distant expedition, an unknown + country; for I do not see them go on long excursions. By day, they visit + the nests or the flowers in the garden; at night, they take refuge in the + old galleries or in the interstices of the stone-heaps in the harmas. + </p> + <p> + The same nests are frequented by two Osmia-bees (Osmia tricornis and Osmia + Latreillii), who build their cells in the galleries left at their disposal + by the Chalicodomae. The most numerous is the first, the Three-horned + Osmia. It was a splendid opportunity to try and discover to what extent + the sense of direction may be regarded as general in the Bees and Wasps; + and I took advantage of it. Well, the Osmiae (Osmia tricornis), both male + and female, can find their way back to the nest. My experiments were made + very quickly, with small numbers and over short distances; but the results + agreed so closely with the others that I was convinced. All told, the + return to the nest, including my earlier attempts, was verified in the + case of four species: the Chalicodoma of the Sheds, the Chalicodoma of the + Walls, the Three-horned Osmia and the Great or Warted Cerceris (Cerceris + tuberculata). ("Insect Life": chapter 19.—Translator's Note.) Shall + I generalize without reserve and allow all the Hymenoptera (The + Hymenoptera are an order of insects having four membranous wings and + include the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Saw-flies and Ichneumon-flies.—Translator's + Note.) this faculty of finding their way in unknown country? I shall do + nothing of the kind; for here, to my knowledge, is a contradictory and + very significant result. + </p> + <p> + Among the treasures of my harmas-laboratory, I place in the first rank an + Ant-hill of Polyergus rufescens, the celebrated Red Ant, the slave-hunting + Amazon. Unable to rear her family, incapable of seeking her food, of + taking it even when it is within her reach, she needs servants who feed + her and undertake the duties of housekeeping. The Red Ants make a practice + of stealing children to wait on the community. They ransack the + neighbouring Ant-hills, the home of a different species; they carry away + nymphs, which soon attain maturity in the strange house and become willing + and industrious servants. + </p> + <p> + When the hot weather of June and July sets in, I often see the Amazons + leave their barracks of an afternoon and start on an expedition. The + column measures five or six yards in length. If nothing worthy of + attention be met upon the road, the ranks are fairly well maintained; but, + at the first suspicion of an Ant-hill, the vanguard halts and deploys in a + swarming throng, which is increased by the others as they come up + hurriedly. Scouts are sent out; the Amazons recognize that they are on a + wrong track; and the column forms again. It resumes its march, crosses the + garden-paths, disappears from sight in the grass, reappears farther on, + threads its way through the heaps of dead leaves, comes out again and + continues its search. At last, a nest of Black Ants is discovered. The Red + Ants hasten down to the dormitories where the nymphs lie and soon emerge + with their booty. Then we have, at the gates of the underground city, a + bewildering scrimmage between the defending blacks and the attacking reds. + The struggle is too unequal to remain indecisive. Victory falls to the + reds, who race back to their abode, each with her prize, a swaddled nymph, + dangling from her mandibles. The reader who is not acquainted with these + slave-raiding habits would be greatly interested in the story of the + Amazons. I relinquish it, with much regret: it would take us too far from + our subject, namely, the return to the nest. + </p> + <p> + The distance covered by the nymph-stealing column varies: it all depends + on whether Black Ants are plentiful in the neighbourhood. At times, ten or + twenty yards suffice; at others, it requires fifty, a hundred or more. I + once saw the expedition go beyond the garden. The Amazons scaled the + surrounding wall, which was thirteen feet high at that point, climbed over + it and went on a little farther, into a cornfield. As for the route taken, + this is a matter of indifference to the marching column. Bare ground, + thick grass, a heap of dead leaves or stones, brickwork, a clump of + shrubs: all are crossed without any marked preference for one sort of road + rather than another. + </p> + <p> + What is rigidly fixed is the path home, which follows the outward track in + all its windings and all its crossings, however difficult. Laden with + their plunder, the Red Ants return to the nest by the same road, often an + exceedingly complicated one, which the exigencies of the chase compelled + them to take originally. They repass each spot which they passed at first; + and this is to them a matter of such imperative necessity that no + additional fatigue nor even the gravest danger can make them alter the + track. + </p> + <p> + Let us suppose that they have crossed a thick heap of dead leaves, + representing to them a path beset with yawning gulfs, where every moment + some one falls, where many are exhausted as they struggle out of the + hollows and reach the heights by means of swaying bridges, emerging at + last from the labyrinth of lanes. No matter: on their return, they will + not fail, though weighed down with their burden, once more to struggle + through that weary maze. To avoid all this fatigue, they would have but to + swerve slightly from the original path, for the good, smooth road is + there, hardly a step away. This little deviation never occurs to them. + </p> + <p> + I came upon them one day when they were on one of their raids. They were + marching along the inner edge of the stone-work of the garden-pond, where + I have replaced the old batrachians by a colony of Gold-fish. The wind was + blowing very hard from the north and, taking the column in flank, sent + whole rows of the Ants flying into the water. The fish hurried up; they + watched the performance and gobbled up the drowning insects. It was a + difficult bit; and the column was decimated before it had passed. I + expected to see the return journey made by another road, which would wind + round and avoid the fatal cliff. Not at all. The nymph-laden band resumed + the parlous path and the Goldfish received a double windfall: the Ants and + their prizes. Rather than alter its track, the column was decimated a + second time. + </p> + <p> + It is not easy to find the way home again after a distant expedition, + during which there have been various sorties, nearly always by different + paths; and this difficulty makes it absolutely necessary for the Amazons + to return by the same road by which they went. The insect has no choice of + route, if it would not be lost on the way: it must come back by the track + which it knows and which it has lately travelled. The Processionary + Caterpillars, when they leave their nest and go to another branch, on + another tree, in search of a type of leaf more to their taste, carpet the + course with silk and are able to return home by following the threads + stretched along their road. This is the most elementary method open to the + insect liable to stray on its excursions: a silken path brings it home + again. The Processionaries, with their unsophisticated traffic-laws, are + very different from the Mason-bees and others, who have a special sense to + guide them. + </p> + <p> + The Amazon, though belonging to the Hymenopteron clan, herself possesses + rather limited homing-faculties, as witness her compulsory return by her + former trail. Can she imitate, to a certain extent, the Processionaries' + method, that is to say, does she leave, along the road traversed, not a + series of conducting threads, for she is not equipped for that work, but + some odorous emanation, for instance some formic scent, which would allow + her to guide herself by means of the olfactory sense? This view is pretty + generally accepted. The Ants, people say, are guided by the sense of + smell; and this sense of smell appears to have its seat in the antennae, + which we see in continual palpitation. It is doubtless very reprehensible, + but I must admit that the theory does not inspire me with overwhelming + enthusiasm. In the first place, I have my suspicions about a sense of + smell seated in the antennae: I have given my reasons before; and, next, I + hope to prove by experiment that the Red Ants are not guided by a scent of + any kind. + </p> + <p> + To lie in wait for my Amazons, for whole afternoons on end, often + unsuccessfully, meant taking up too much of my time. I engaged an + assistant whose hours were not so much occupied as mine. It was my + grand-daughter Lucie, a little rogue who liked to hear my stories of the + Ants. She had been present at the great battle between the reds and blacks + and was much impressed by the rape of the long-clothes babies. + Well-coached in her exalted functions, very proud of already serving that + august lady, Science, my little Lucie would wander about the garden, when + the weather seemed propitious, and keep an eye on the Red Ants, having + been commissioned to reconnoitre carefully the road to the pillaged + Ant-hill. She had given proof of her zeal; I could rely upon it. + </p> + <p> + One day, while I was spinning out my daily quota of prose, there came a + banging at my study-door: + </p> + <p> + 'It's I, Lucie! Come quick: the reds have gone into the blacks' house. + Come quick!' + </p> + <p> + 'And do you know the road they took?' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, I marked it.' + </p> + <p> + 'What! Marked it? How?' + </p> + <p> + 'I did what Hop-o'-my-Thumb did: I scattered little white stones along the + road.' + </p> + <p> + I hurried out. Things had happened as my six-year-old colleague said. + Lucie had secured her provision of pebbles in advance and, on seeing the + Amazon regiment leave barracks, had followed them step by step and placed + her stones at intervals along the road covered. The Ants had made their + raid and were beginning to return along the track of tell-tale pebbles. + The distance to the nest was about a hundred paces, which gave me time to + make preparations for an experiment previously contemplated. + </p> + <p> + I take a big broom and sweep the track for about a yard across. The dusty + particles on the surface are thus removed and replaced by others. If they + were tainted with any odorous effluvia, their absence will throw the Ants + off the track. I divide the road, in this way, at four different points, a + few feet a part. + </p> + <p> + The column arrives at the first section. The hesitation of the Ants is + evident. Some recede and then return, only to recede once more; others + wander along the edge of the cutting; others disperse sideways and seem to + be trying to skirt the unknown country. The head of the column, at first + closed up to a width of a foot or so, now scatters to three or four yards. + But fresh arrivals gather in their numbers before the obstacle; they form + a mighty array, an undecided horde. At last, a few Ants venture into the + swept zone and others follow, while a few have meantime gone ahead and + recovered the track by a circuitous route. At the other cuttings, there + are the same halts, the same hesitations; nevertheless, they are crossed, + either in a straight line or by going round. In spite of my snares, the + Ants manage to return to the nest; and that by way of the little stones. + </p> + <p> + The result of the experiment seems to argue in favour of the sense of + smell. Four times over, there are manifest hesitations wherever the road + is swept. Though the return takes place, nevertheless, along the original + track, this may be due to the uneven work of the broom, which has left + certain particles of the scented dust in position. The Ants who went round + the cleared portion may have been guided by the sweepings removed to + either side. Before, therefore, pronouncing judgment for or against the + sense of smell, it were well to renew the experiment under better + conditions and to remove everything containing a vestige of scent. + </p> + <p> + A few days later, when I have definitely decided on my plan, Lucie resumes + her watch and soon comes to tell me of a sortie. I was counting on it, for + the Amazons rarely miss an expedition during the hot and sultry afternoons + of June and July, especially when the weather threatens storm. + Hop-o'-my-Thumb's pebbles once more mark out the road, on which I choose + the point best-suited to my schemes. + </p> + <p> + A garden-hose is fixed to one of the feeders of the pond; the sluice is + opened; and the Ants' path is cut by a continuous torrent, two or three + feet wide and of unlimited length. The sheet of water flows swiftly and + plentifully at first, so as to wash the ground well and remove anything + that may possess a scent. This thorough washing lasts for nearly a quarter + of an hour. Then, when the Ants draw near, returning from the plunder, I + let the water flow more slowly and reduce its depth, so as not to overtax + the strength of the insects. Now we have an obstacle which the Amazons + must surmount, if it is absolutely necessary for them to follow the first + trail. + </p> + <p> + This time, the hesitation lasts long and the stragglers have time to come + up with the head of the column. Nevertheless, an attempt is made to cross + the torrent by means of a few bits of gravel projecting above the water; + then, failing to find bottom, the more reckless of the Ants are swept off + their feet and, without loosing hold of their prizes, drift away, land on + some shoal, regain the bank and renew their search for a ford. A few + straws borne on the waters stop and become so many shaky bridges on which + the Ants climb. Dry olive-leaves are converted into rafts, each with its + load of passengers. The more venturesome, partly by their own efforts, + partly by good luck, reach the opposite bank without adventitious aid. I + see some who, dragged by the current to one or the other bank, two or + three yards off, seem very much concerned as to what they shall do next. + Amid this disorder, amid the dangers of drowning, not one lets go her + booty. She would not dream of doing so: death sooner than that! In a word, + the torrent is crossed somehow or other along the regular track. + </p> + <p> + The scent of the road cannot be the cause of this, it seems to me, for the + torrent not only washed the ground some time beforehand but also pours + fresh water on it all the time that the crossing is taking place. Let us + now see what will happen when the formic scent, if there really be one on + the trail, is replaced by another, much stronger odour, one perceptible to + our own sense of smell, which the first is not, at least not under present + conditions. + </p> + <p> + I wait for a third sortie and, at one point in the road taken by the Ants, + rub the ground with some handfuls of freshly gathered mint. I cover the + track, a little farther on, with the leaves of the same plant. The Ants, + on their return, cross the section over which the mint was rubbed without + apparently giving it a thought; they hesitate in front of the section + heaped up with leaves and then go straight on. + </p> + <p> + After these two experiments, first with the torrent of water which washes + away all traces of smell from the ground and then with the mint which + changes the smell, I think that we are no longer at liberty to quote scent + as the guide of the Ants that return to the nest by the road which they + took at starting. Further tests will tell us more about it. + </p> + <p> + Without interfering with the soil, I now lay across the track some large + sheets of paper, newspapers, keeping them in position with a few small + stones. In front of this carpet, which completely alters the appearance of + the road, without removing any sort of scent that it may possess, the Ants + hesitate even longer than before any of my other snares, including the + torrent. They are compelled to make manifold attempts, reconnaissances to + right and left, forward movements and repeated retreats, before venturing + altogether into the unknown zone. The paper straits are crossed at last + and the march resumed as usual. + </p> + <p> + Another ambush awaits the Amazons some distance farther on. I have divided + the track by a thin layer of yellow sand, the ground itself being grey. + This change of colour alone is enough for a moment to disconcert the Ants, + who again hesitate in the same way, though not for so long, as they did + before the paper. Eventually, this obstacle is overcome like the others. + </p> + <p> + As neither the stretch of sand nor the stretch of paper got rid of any + scented effluvia with which the trail may have been impregnated, it is + patent that, as the Ants hesitated and stopped in the same way as before, + they find their way not by sense of smell, but really and truly by sense + of sight; for, every time that I alter the appearance of the track in any + way whatever—whether by my destructive broom, my streaming water, my + green mint, my paper carpet or my golden sand—the returning column + calls a halt, hesitates and attempts to account for the changes that have + taken place. Yes, it is sight, but a very dull sight, whose horizon is + altered by the shifting of a few bits of gravel. To this short sight, a + strip of paper, a bed of mint-leaves, a layer of yellow sand, a stream of + water, a furrow made by the broom, or even lesser modifications are enough + to transform the landscape; and the regiment, eager to reach home as fast + as it can with its loot, halts uneasily on beholding this unfamiliar + scenery. If the doubtful zones are at length passed, it is due to the fact + that fresh attempts are constantly being made to cross the doctored strips + and that at last a few Ants recognize well-known spots beyond them. The + others, relying on their clearer-sighted sisters, follow. + </p> + <p> + Sight would not be enough, if the Amazon had not also at her service a + correct memory for places. The memory of an Ant! What can that be? In what + does it resemble ours? I have no answers to these questions; but a few + words will enable me to prove that the insect has a very exact and + persistent recollection of places which it has once visited. Here is + something which I have often witnessed. It sometimes happens that the + plundered Ant-hill offers the Amazons a richer spoil than the invading + column is able to carry away. Or, again, the region visited is rich in + Ant-hills. Another raid is necessary, to exploit the site thoroughly. In + such cases, a second expedition takes place, sometimes on the next day, + sometimes two or three days later. This time, the column does no + reconnoitring on the way: it goes straight to the spot known to abound in + nymphs and travels by the identical path which it followed before. It has + sometimes happened that I have marked with small stones, for a distance of + twenty yards, the road pursued a couple of days earlier and have then + found the Amazons proceeding by the same route, stone by stone: + </p> + <p> + 'They will go first here and then there,' I said, according to the + position of the guide-stones. + </p> + <p> + And they would, in fact, go first here and then there, skirting my line of + pebbles, without any noticeable deviation. + </p> + <p> + Can one believe that odoriferous emanations diffused along the route are + going to last for several days? No one would dare to suggest it. It must, + therefore, be sight that directs the Amazons, sight assisted by a memory + for places. And this memory is tenacious enough to retain the impression + until the next day and later; it is scrupulously faithful, for it guides + the column by the same path as on the day before, across the thousand + irregularities of the ground. + </p> + <p> + How will the Amazon behave when the locality is unknown to her? Apart from + topographical memory, which cannot serve her here, the region in which I + imagine her being still unexplored, does the Ant possess the Mason-bee's + sense of direction, at least within modest limits, and is she able thus to + regain her Ant-hill or her marching column? + </p> + <p> + The different parts of the garden are not all visited by the marauding + legions to the same extent: the north side is exploited by preference, + doubtless because the forays in that direction are more productive. The + Amazons, therefore, generally direct their troops north of their barracks; + I seldom see them in the south. This part of the garden is, if not wholly + unknown, at least much less familiar to them than the other. Having said + that, let us observe the conduct of the strayed Ant. + </p> + <p> + I take up my position near the Ant-hill; and, when the column returns from + the slave-raid, I force an Ant to step on a leaf which I hold out to her. + Without touching her, I carry her two or three paces away from her + regiment: no more than that, but in a southerly direction. It is enough to + put her astray, to make her lose her bearings entirely. I see the Amazon, + now replaced on the ground, wander about at random, still, I need hardly + say, with her booty in her mandibles; I see her hurry away from her + comrades, thinking that she is rejoining them; I see her retrace her + steps, turn aside again, try to the right, try to the left and grope in a + host of directions, without succeeding in finding her whereabouts. The + pugnacious, strong-jawed slave-hunter is utterly lost two steps away from + her party. I have in mind certain strays who, after half an hour's + searching, had not succeeded in recovering the route and were going + farther and farther from it, still carrying the nymph in their teeth. What + became of them? What did they do with their spoil? I had not the patience + to follow those dull-witted marauders to the end. + </p> + <p> + Let us repeat the experiment, but place the Amazon to the north. After + more or less prolonged hesitations, after a search now in this direction, + now in that, the Ant succeeds in finding her column. She knows the + locality. + </p> + <p> + Here, of a surety, is a Hymenopteron deprived of that sense of direction + which other Hymenoptera enjoy. She has in her favour a memory for places + and nothing more. A deviation amounting to two or three of our strides is + enough to make her lose her way and to keep her from returning to her + people, whereas miles across unknown country will not foil the Mason-bee. + I expressed my surprise, just now, that man was deprived of a wonderful + sense wherewith certain animals are endowed. The enormous distance between + the two things compared might furnish matter for discussion. In the + present case, the distance no longer exists: we have to do with two + insects very near akin, two Hymenoptera. Why, if they issue from the same + mould, has one a sense which the other has not, an additional sense, + constituting a much more overpowering factor than the structural details? + I will wait until the evolutionists condescend to give me a valid reason. + </p> + <p> + To return to this memory for places whose tenacity and fidelity I have + just recognized: to what degree does it consent to retain impressions? + Does the Amazon require repeated journeys in order to learn her geography, + or is a single expedition enough for her? Are the line followed and the + places visited engraved on her memory from the first? The Red Ant does not + lend herself to the tests that might furnish the reply: the experimenter + is unable to decide whether the path followed by the expeditionary column + is being covered for the first time, nor is it in his power to compel the + legion to adopt this or that different road. When the Amazons go out to + plunder the Ant-hills, they take the direction which they please; and we + are not allowed to interfere with their march. Let us turn to other + Hymenoptera for information. + </p> + <p> + I select the Pompili, whose habits we shall study in detail in a later + chapter. (For the Wasp known as the Pompilus, or Ringed Calicurgus, cf. + "The Life and Love of the Insect", by J. Henri Fabre, translated by + Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chapter 12.—Translator's Note.) They + are hunters of Spiders and diggers of burrows. The game, the food of the + coming larva, is first caught and paralysed; the home is excavated + afterwards. As the heavy prey would be a grave encumbrance to the Wasp in + search of a convenient site, the Spider is placed high up, on a tuft of + grass or brushwood, out of the reach of marauders, especially Ants, who + might damage the precious morsel in the lawful owner's absence. After + fixing her booty on the verdant pinnacle, the Pompilus casts around for a + favourable spot and digs her burrow. During the process of excavation, she + returns from time to time to her Spider; she nibbles at the prize, feels, + touches it here and there, as though taking stock of its plumpness and + congratulating herself on the plentiful provender; then she returns to her + burrow and goes on digging. Should anything alarm or distress her, she + does not merely inspect her Spider: she also brings her a little closer to + her work-yard, but never fails to lay her on the top of a tuft of verdure. + These are the manoeuvres of which I can avail myself to gauge the + elasticity of the Wasp's memory. + </p> + <p> + While the Pompilus is at work on the burrow, I seize the prey and place it + in an exposed spot, half a yard away from its original position. The + Pompilus soon leaves the hole to enquire after her booty and goes straight + to the spot where she left it. This sureness of direction, this faithful + memory for places can be explained by repeated previous visits. I know + nothing of what has happened beforehand. Let us take no notice of this + first expedition; the others will be more conclusive. For the moment, the + Pompilus, without the least hesitation, finds the tuft of grass whereon + her prey was lying. Then come marches and counter-marches upon that tuft, + minute explorations and frequent returns to the exact spot where the + Spider was deposited. At last, convinced that the prize is no longer + there, the Wasp makes a leisurely survey of the neighbourhood, feeling the + ground with her antennae as she goes. The Spider is descried in the + exposed spot where I had placed her. Surprise on the part of the Pompilus, + who goes forward and then suddenly steps back with a start: + </p> + <p> + 'Is it alive?' she seems to ask. 'Is it dead? Is it really my Spider? Let + us be wary!' + </p> + <p> + The hesitation does not last long: the huntress grabs her victim, drags + her backwards and places her, still high up, on a second tuft of herbage, + two or three steps away from the first. She then goes back to the burrow + and digs for a while. For the second time, I remove the Spider and lay her + at some distance, on the bare ground. This is the moment to judge of the + Wasp's memory. Two tufts of grass have served as temporary resting-places + for the game. The first, to which she returned with such precision, the + Wasp may have learnt to know by a more or less thorough examination, by + reiterated visits that escaped my eye; but the second has certainly made + but a slight impression on her memory. She adopted it without any studied + choice; she stopped there just long enough to hoist her Spider to the top; + she saw it for the first time and saw it hurriedly, in passing. Is that + rapid glance enough to provide an exact recollection? Besides, there are + now two localities to be modelled in the insect's memory: the first shelf + may easily be confused with the second. To which will the Pompilus go? + </p> + <p> + We shall soon find out: here she comes, leaving the burrow to pay a fresh + visit to the Spider. She runs straight to the second tuft, where she hunts + about for a long time for her absent prey. She knows that it was there, + when last seen, and not elsewhere; she persists in looking for it there + and does not once think of going back to the first perch. The first tuft + of grass no longer counts; the second alone interests her. And then the + search in the neighbourhood begins again. + </p> + <p> + On finding her game on the bare spot where I myself have placed it, the + Pompilus quickly deposits the Spider on a third tuft of grass; and the + experiment is renewed. This time, the Pompilus hurries to the third tuft + when she comes to look after her Spider; she hurries to it without + hesitation, without confusing it in any way with the first two, which she + scorns to visit, so sure is her memory. I do the same thing a couple of + times more; and the insect always returns to the last perch, without + worrying about the others. I stand amazed at the memory of that pigmy. She + need but catch a single hurried glimpse of a spot that differs in no wise + from a host of others in order to remember it quite well, notwithstanding + the fact that, as a miner relentlessly pursuing her underground labours, + she has other matters to occupy her mind. Could our own memory always vie + with hers? It is very doubtful. Allow the Red Ant the same sort of memory; + and her peregrinations, her returns to the nest by the same road are no + longer difficult to explain. + </p> + <p> + Tests of this kind have furnished me with some other results worthy of + mention. When convinced, by untiring explorations, that her prey is no + longer on the tuft where she laid it, the Pompilus, as we were saying, + looks for it in the neighbourhood and finds it pretty easily, for I am + careful to put it in an exposed place. Let us increase the difficulty to + some extent. I dig the tip of my finger into the ground and lay the Spider + in the little hole thus obtained, covering her with a tiny leaf. Now the + Wasp, while in quest of her lost prey, happens to walk over this leaf, to + pass it again and again without suspecting that the Spider lies beneath, + for she goes and continues her vain search farther off. Her guide, + therefore is not scent, but sight. Nevertheless, she is constantly feeling + the ground with her antennae. What can be the function of those organs? I + do not know, although I assert that they are not olfactory organs. The + Ammophila, in search of her Grey Worm, had already led me to make the same + assertion; I now obtain an experimental proof which seems to me decisive. + I would add that the Pompilus has very short sight: often she passes + within a couple of inches of her Spider without seeing her. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 7. SOME REFLECTIONS UPON INSECT PSYCHOLOGY. + </h2> + <p> + The laudator temperis acti is out of favour just now: the world is on the + move. Yes, but sometimes it moves backwards. When I was a boy, our + twopenny textbooks told us that man was a reasoning animal; nowadays, + there are learned volumes to prove to us that human reason is but a higher + rung in the ladder whose foot reaches down to the bottommost depths of + animal life. There is the greater and the lesser; there are all the + intermediary rounds; but nowhere does it break off and start afresh. It + begins with zero in the glair of a cell and ascends until we come to the + mighty brain of a Newton. The noble faculty of which we were so proud is a + zoological attribute. All have a larger or smaller share of it, from the + live atom to the anthropoid ape, that hideous caricature of man. + </p> + <p> + It always struck me that those who held this levelling theory made facts + say more than they really meant; it struck me that, in order to obtain + their plain, they were lowering the mountain-peak, man, and elevating the + valley, the animal. Now this levelling of theirs needed proofs, to my + mind; and, as I found none in their books, or at any rate only doubtful + and highly debatable ones, I did my own observing, in order to arrive at a + definite conviction; I sought; I experimented. + </p> + <p> + To speak with any certainty, it behoves us not to go beyond what we really + know. I am beginning to have a passable acquaintance with insects, after + spending some forty years in their company. Let us question the insect, + then: not the first that comes along, but the most gifted, the + Hymenopteron. I am giving my opponents every advantage. Where will they + find a creature more richly endowed with talent? It would seem as though, + in creating it, nature had delighted in bestowing the greatest amount of + industry upon the smallest body of matter. Can the bird, wonderful + architect that it is, compare its work with that masterpiece of higher + geometry, the edifice of the Bee? The Hymenopteron rivals man himself. We + build towns, the Bee erects cities; we have servants, the Ant has hers; we + rear domestic animals, she rears her sugar-yielding insects; we herd + cattle, she herds her milch-cows, the Aphides; we have abolished slavery, + whereas she continues her nigger-traffic. + </p> + <p> + Well, does this superior, this privileged being reason? Reader, do not + smile: this is a most serious matter, well worthy of our consideration. To + devote our attention to animals is to plunge at once into the vexed + question of who we are and whence we come. What, then, passes in that + little Hymenopteron brain? Has it faculties akin to ours, has it the power + of thought? What a problem, if we could only solve it; what a chapter of + psychology, if we could only write it! But, at our very first + questionings, the mysterious will rise up, impenetrable: we may be + convinced of that. We are incapable of knowing ourselves; what will it be + if we try to fathom the intellect of others? Let us be content if we + succeed in gleaning a few grains of truth. + </p> + <p> + What is reason? Philosophy would give us learned definitions. Let us be + modest and keep to the simplest: we are only treating of animals. Reason + is the faculty that connects the effect with its cause and directs the act + by conforming it to the needs of the accidental. Within these limits, are + animals capable of reasoning? Are they able to connect a 'because' with a + 'why' and afterwards to regulate their behaviour accordingly? Are they + able to change their line of conduct when faced with an emergency? + </p> + <p> + History has but few data likely to be of use to us here; and those which + we find scattered in various authors are seldom able to withstand a severe + examination. One of the most remarkable of which I know is supplied by + Erasmus Darwin, in his book entitled "Zoonomia." It tells of a Wasp that + has just caught and killed a big Fly. The wind is blowing; and the + huntress, hampered in her flight by the great area presented by her prize, + alights on the ground to amputate the abdomen, the head and the wings; she + flies away, carrying with her only the thorax, which gives less hold to + the wind. If we keep to the bald facts, this does, I admit, give a + semblance of reason. The Wasp appears to grasp the relation between cause + and effect. The effect is the resistance experienced in the flight; the + cause is the dimensions of the prey contending with the air. Hence the + logical conclusion: those dimensions must be lessened; the abdomen, the + head and, above all, the wings must be chopped off; and the resistance + will be decreased. (I would gladly, if I were able, cancel some rather + hasty lines which I allowed myself to pen in the first volume of these + "Souvenirs" but scripta manent. All that I can do is to make amends now, + in this note, for the error into which I fell. Relying on Lacordaire, who + quotes this instance from Erasmus Darwin in his own "Introduction a + l'entomologie", I believed that a Sphex was given as the heroine of the + story. How could I do otherwise, not having the original text in front of + me? How could I suspect that an entomologist of Lacordaire's standing + should be capable of such a blunder as to substitute a Sphex for a Common + Wasp? Great was my perplexity, in the face of this evidence! A Sphex + capturing a Fly was an impossibility; and I blamed the British scientist + accordingly. But what insect was it that Erasmus Darwin saw? Calling logic + to my aid, I declared that it was a Wasp; and I could not have hit the + mark more truly. Charles Darwin, in fact, informed me afterwards that his + grandfather wrote 'a Wasp' in his "Zoonomia." Though the correction did + credit to my intelligence, I none the less deeply regretted my mistake, + for I had uttered suspicions of the observer's powers of discernment, + unjust suspicions which the translator's inaccuracy led me into + entertaining. May this note serve to mitigate the harshness of the + strictures provoked by my overtaxed credulity! I do not scruple to attack + ideas which I consider false; but Heaven forfend that I should ever attack + those who uphold them!—Author's Note.) + </p> + <p> + But does this concatenation of ideas, rudimentary though it be, really + take place within the insect's brain? I am convinced of the contrary; and + my proofs are unanswerable. In the first volume of these "Souvenirs" (Cf. + "Insect Life": chapter 9.—Translator's Note.), I demonstrated by + experiment that Erasmus Darwin's Wasp was but obeying her instinct, which + is to cut up the captured game and to keep only the most nourishing part, + the thorax. Whether the day be perfectly calm or whether the wind blow, + whether she be in the shelter of a dense thicket or in the open, I see the + Wasp proceed to separate the succulent from the tough; I see her reject + the legs, the wings, the head and the abdomen, retaining only the breast + as pap for her larvae. Then what value has this dissection as an argument + in favour of the insect's reasoning-powers when the wind blows? It has no + value at all, for it would take place just the same in absolutely calm + weather. Erasmus Darwin jumped too quickly to his conclusion, which was + the outcome of his mental bias and not of the logic of things. If he had + first enquired into the Wasp's habits, he would not have brought forward + as a serious argument an incident which had no connection with the + important question of animal reason. + </p> + <p> + I have reverted to this case to show the difficulties that beset the man + who confines himself to casual observations, however carefully carried + out. One should never rely upon a lucky chance, which may not occur again. + We must multiply our observations, check them one with the other; we must + create incidents, looking into preceding ones, finding out succeeding ones + and working out the relation between them all: then and not till then, + with extreme caution, are we entitled to express a few views worthy of + credence. Nowhere do I find data collected under such conditions; for + which reason, however much I might wish it, it is impossible for me to + bring the evidence of others in support of the few conclusions which I + myself have formed. + </p> + <p> + My Mason-bees, with their nests hanging on the walls of the arch which I + have mentioned, lent themselves to continuous experiment better than any + other Hymenopteron. I had them there, at my house, under my eyes, at all + hours of the day, as long as I wished. I was free to follow their actions + in full detail and to carry out successfully any experiment, however long. + Moreover, their numbers allowed me to repeat my attempts until I was + perfectly convinced. The Mason-bees, therefore, shall supply me with the + materials for this chapter also. + </p> + <p> + A few words, before I begin, about the works. The Mason-bee of the Sheds + utilizes, first of all, the old galleries of the clay nest, a part of + which she good-naturedly abandons to two Osmiae, her free tenants: the + Three-horned Osmia and Latreille's Osmia. These old corridors, which save + labour, are in great demand; but there are not many vacant, as the more + precocious Osmiae have already taken possession of most of them; and + therefore the building of new cells soon begins. These cells are cemented + to the surface of the nest, which thus increases in thickness every year. + The edifice of cells is not built all at once: mortar and honey alternate + repeatedly. The masonry starts with a sort of little swallow's nest, a + half-cup or thimble, whose circumference is completed by the wall against + which it rests. Picture the cup of an acorn cut in two and stuck to the + surface of the nest: there you have the receptacle in a stage sufficiently + advanced to take a first instalment of honey. + </p> + <p> + The Bee thereupon leaves the mortar and busies herself with harvesting. + After a few foraging-trips, the work of building is resumed; and some new + rows of bricks raise the edge of the basin, which becomes capable of + receiving a larger stock of provisions. Then comes another change of + business: the mason once more becomes a harvester. A little later, the + harvester is again a mason; and these alternations continue until the cell + is of the regulation height and holds the amount of honey required for the + larva's food. Thus come, turn and turn about, more or less numerous + according to the occupation in hand, journeys to the dry and barren path, + where the cement is gathered and mixed, and journeys to the flowers, where + the Bee's crop is crammed with honey and her belly powdered with pollen. + </p> + <p> + At last comes the time for laying. We see the Bee arrive with a pellet of + mortar. She gives a glance at the cell to enquire if everything is in + order; she inserts her abdomen; and the egg is laid. Then and there the + mother seals up the home: with her pellet of cement she closes the orifice + and manages so well with the material that the lid receives its permanent + form at this first sitting; it has only to be thickened and strengthened + with fresh layers, a work which is less urgent and will be done by and by. + What does appear to be an urgent necessity is the closing of the cell + immediately after the egg has been religiously deposited therein, so that + there may be no danger from evilly-disposed visitors during the mother's + absence. The Bee must have serious reasons for thus hurrying on the + closing of the cell. What would happen if, after laying her egg, she left + the house open and went to the cement-pit to fetch the wherewithal to + block the door? Some thief might drop in and substitute her own egg for + the Mason-bee's. We shall see that our suspicions are not uncalled-for. + One thing is certain, that the Mason never lays without having in her + mandibles the pellet of mortar required for the immediate construction of + the lid of the nest. The precious egg must not for a single instant remain + exposed to the cupidity of marauders. + </p> + <p> + To these particulars I will add a few general observations which will make + what follows easier to understand. So long as its circumstances are + normal, the insect's actions are calculated most rationally in view of the + object to be attained. What could be more logical, for instance, than the + devices employed by the Hunting Wasp when paralysing her prey (Cf. "Insect + Life": chapters 3 to 12 and 15 to 17.—Translator's Note.) so that it + may keep fresh for her larva, while in no wise imperilling that larva's + safety? It is preeminently rational; we ourselves could think of nothing + better; and yet the Wasp's action is not prompted by reason. If she + thought out her surgery, she would be our superior. It will never occur to + anybody that the creature is able, in the smallest degree, to account for + its skilful vivisections. Therefore, so long as it does not depart from + the path mapped out for it, the insect can perform the most sagacious + actions without entitling us in the least to attribute these to the + dictates of reason. + </p> + <p> + What would happen in an emergency? Here we must distinguish carefully + between two classes of emergency, or we shall be liable to grievous error. + First, in accidents occurring in the course of the insect's occupation at + the moment. In these circumstances, the creature is capable of remedying + the accident; it continues, under a similar form, its actual task; it + remains, in short; in the same psychic condition. In the second case, the + accident is connected with a more remote occupation; it relates to a + completed task with which, under normal conditions, the insect is no + longer concerned. To meet this emergency, the creature would have to + retrace its psychic course; it would have to do all over again what it has + just finished, before turning its attention to anything else. Is the + insect capable of this? Will it be able to leave the present and return to + the past? Will it decide to hark back to a task that is much more pressing + than the one on which it was engaged? If it did all this, then we should + really have evidence of a modicum of reason. The question shall be settled + by experiment. + </p> + <p> + We will begin by taking a few incidents that come under the first heading. + A Mason-bee has finished the initial layer of the covering of the cell. + She has gone in search of a second pellet of mortar wherewith to + strengthen her work. In her absence, I prick the lid with a needle and + widen the hole thus made, until it is half the size of the opening. The + insect returns and repairs the damage. It was originally engaged on the + lid and is merely continuing its work in mending that lid. + </p> + <p> + A second is still at her first row of bricks. The cell as yet is no more + than a shallow cup, containing no provisions. I make a big hole in the + bottom of the cup and the Bee hastens to stop the breach. She was busy + building and turned aside a moment to do more building. Her repairs are + the continuation of the work on which she was engaged. + </p> + <p> + A third has laid her egg and closed the cell. While she is gone in search + of a fresh supply of cement to strengthen the door, I make a large + aperture immediately below the lid, too high up to allow the honey to + escape. The insect, on arriving with its mortar intended for a different + task, sees its broken jar and soon puts the damage right. I have rarely + witnessed such a sensible performance. Nevertheless, all things + considered, let us not be too lavish of our praises. The insect was busy + closing up. On its return, it sees a crack, representing in its eyes a bad + join which it had overlooked; it completes its actual task by improving + the join. + </p> + <p> + The conclusion to be drawn from these three instances, which I select from + a large number of others, more or less similar, is that the insect is able + to cope with emergencies, provided that the new action be not outside the + course of its actual work at the moment. Shall we say then that reason + directs it? Why should we? The insect persists in the same psychic course, + it continues its action, it does what it was doing before, it corrects + what to it appears but a careless flaw in the work of the moment. + </p> + <p> + Here, moreover, is something which would change our estimate entirely, if + it ever occurred to us to look upon these repaired breaches as a work + dictated by reason. Let us turn to the second class of emergency referred + to above: let us imagine, first, cells similar to those in the second + experiment, that is to say, only half-finished, in the form of a shallow + cup, but already containing honey. I make a hole in the bottom, through + which the provisions ooze and run to waste. Their owners are harvesting. + Let us imagine, on the other hand, cells very nearly finished and almost + completely provisioned. I perforate the bottom in the same way and let out + the honey, which drips through gradually. The owners of these are + building. + </p> + <p> + Judging by what has gone before, the reader will perhaps expect to see + immediate repairs, urgent repairs, for the safety of the future larva is + at stake. Let him dismiss any such illusion: more and more journeys are + undertaken, now in quest of food, now in quest of mortar; but not one of + the Mason-bees troubles about the disastrous breach. The harvester goes on + harvesting; the busy bricklayer proceeds with her next row of bricks, as + though nothing out of the way had happened. Lastly, if the injured cells + are high enough and contain enough provisions, the Bee lays her eggs, puts + a door to the house and passes on to another house, without doing aught to + remedy the leakage of the honey. Two or three days later, those cells have + lost all their contents, which now form a long trail on the surface of the + nest. + </p> + <p> + Is it through lack of intelligence that the Bee allows her honey to go to + waste? May it not rather be through helplessness? It might happen that the + sort of mortar which the Mason has at her disposal will not set on the + edges of a hole that is sticky with honey. The honey may prevent the + cement from adjusting itself to the orifice, in which case the insect's + inertness would merely be resignation to an irreparable evil. Let us look + into the matter before drawing inferences. With my forceps, I deprive the + Bee of her pellet of mortar and apply it to the hole whence the honey is + escaping. My attempt at repairing meets with the fullest success, though I + do not pretend to compete with the Mason in dexterity. For a piece of work + done by a man's hand it is quite creditable. My dab of mortar fits nicely + into the mutilated wall; it hardens as usual; and the escape of honey + ceases. This is quite satisfactory. What would it be had the work been + done by the insect, equipped with its tools of exquisite precision? When + the Mason-bee refrains, therefore, this is not due to helplessness on her + part, nor to any defect in the material employed. + </p> + <p> + Another objection presents itself. We are going too far perhaps in + admitting this concatenation of ideas in the insect's mind, in expecting + it to argue that the honey is running away because the cell has a hole in + it and that to save it from being wasted the hole must be stopped. So much + logic perhaps exceeds the powers of its poor little brain. Then, again, + the hole is not seen; it is hidden by the honey trickling through. The + cause of that stream of honey is an unknown cause; and to trace the loss + of the liquid home to that cause, to the hole in the receptacle, is too + lofty a piece of reasoning for the insect. + </p> + <p> + A cell in the rudimentary cup-stage and containing no provisions has a + hole, three or four millimetres (.11 to.15 inch.—Translator's Note.) + wide, made in it at the bottom. A few moments later, this orifice is + stopped by the Mason. We have already witnessed a similar patching. The + insect, having finished, starts foraging. I reopen the hole at the same + place. The pollen runs through the aperture and falls to the ground as the + Bee is rubbing off her first load in the cell. The damage is undoubtedly + observed. When plunging her head into the cup to take stock of what she + has stored, the Bee puts her antennae into the artificial hole: she sounds + it, she explores it, she cannot fail to perceive it. + </p> + <p> + I see the two feelers quivering outside the hole. The insect notices the + breach in the wall: that is certain. It flies off. Will it bring back + mortar from its present journey to repair the injured jar as it did just + now? + </p> + <p> + Not at all. It returns with provisions, it disgorges its honey, it rubs + off its pollen, it mixes the material. The sticky and almost solid mass + fills up the opening and oozes through with difficulty. I roll a spill of + paper and free the hole, which remains open and shows daylight distinctly + in both directions. I sweep the place clear over and over again, whenever + this becomes necessary because new provisions are brought; I clean the + opening sometimes in the Bee's absence, sometimes in her presence, while + she is busy mixing her paste. The unusual happenings in the warehouse + plundered from below cannot escape her any more than the ever-open breach + at the bottom of the cell. Nevertheless, for three consecutive hours, I + witness this strange sight: the Bee, full of active zeal for the task in + hand, omits to plug this vessel of the Danaides. She persists in trying to + fill her cracked receptacle, whence the provisions disappear as soon as + stored away. She constantly alternates between builder's and harvester's + work; she raises the edges of the cell with fresh rows of bricks; she + brings provisions which I continue to abstract, so as to leave the breach + always visible. She makes thirty-two journeys before my eyes, now for + mortar, now for honey, and not once does she bethink herself of stopping + the leakage at the bottom of her jar. + </p> + <p> + At five o'clock in the evening, the works cease. They are resumed on the + morrow. This time, I neglect to clean out my artificial orifice and leave + the victuals gradually to ooze out by themselves. At length, the egg is + laid and the door sealed up, without anything being done by the Bee in the + matter of the disastrous breach. And yet to plug the hole were an easy + matter for her: a pellet of her mortar would suffice. Besides, while the + cup was still empty, did she not instantly close the hole which I had + made? Why are not those early repairs of hers repeated? It clearly shows + the creature's inability to retrace the course of its actions, however + slightly. At the time of the first breach, the cup was empty and the + insect was laying the first rows of bricks. The accident produced through + my agency concerned the part of the work which occupied the Bee at the + actual moment; it was a flaw in the building, such as can occur naturally + in new courses of masonry, which have not had time to harden. In + correcting that flaw, the Mason did not go outside her usual work. + </p> + <p> + But, once the provisioning begins, the cup is finished for good and all; + and, come what may, the insect will not touch it again. The harvester will + go on harvesting, though the pollen trickle to the ground through the + drain. To plug the hole would imply a change of occupation of which the + insect is incapable for the moment. It is the honey's turn and not the + mortar's. The rule upon this point is invariable. A moment comes, + presently, when the harvesting is interrupted and the masoning resumed. + The edifice must be raised a storey higher. Will the Bee, once more a + builder, mixing fresh cement, now attend to the leakage at the bottom? No + more than before. What occupies her at present is the new floor, whose + brickwork would be repaired at once, if it sustained a damage; but the + bottom storey is too old a part of the business, it is ancient history; + and the worker will not put a further touch to it, even though it be in + serious danger. + </p> + <p> + For the rest, the present and the following storeys will all have the same + fate. Carefully watched by the insect as long as they are in process of + building, they are forgotten and allowed to go to ruin once they are + actually built. Here is a striking instance: in a cell which has attained + its full height, I make a window, almost as large as the natural opening, + and place it about half-way up, above the honey. The Bee brings provisions + for some time longer and then lays her egg. Through my big window, I see + the egg deposited on the victuals. The insect next works at the cover, to + which it gives the finishing touches with a series of little taps, + administered with infinite care, while the breach remains yawning. On the + lid, it scrupulously stops up every pore that could admit so much as an + atom; but it leaves the great opening that places the house at the mercy + of the first-comer. It goes to that breach repeatedly, puts in its head, + examines it, explores it with its antennae, nibbles the edges of it. And + that is all. The mutilated cell shall stay as it is, with never a dab of + mortar. The threatened part dates too far back for the Bee to think of + troubling about it. + </p> + <p> + I have said enough, I think, to show the insect's mental incapacity in the + presence of the accidental. This incapacity is confirmed by renewing the + test, an essential condition of all good experiments; therefore my notes + are full of examples similar to the one which I have just described. To + relate them would be mere repetition; I pass them over for the sake of + brevity. + </p> + <p> + The renewal of a test is not sufficient: we must also vary our test. Let + us, then, examine the insect's intelligence from another point of view, + that of the introduction of foreign bodies into the cell. The Mason-bee is + a housekeeper of scrupulous cleanliness, as indeed are all the + Hymenoptera. Not a spot of dirt is suffered in her honey-pot; not a grain + of dust is permitted on the surface of her mixture. And yet, while the jar + is open, the precious Bee-bread is exposed to accidents. The workers in + the cells above may inadvertently drop a little mortar into the lower + cells; the owner herself, when working at enlarging the jar, runs the risk + of letting a speck of cement fall into the provisions. A Gnat, attracted + by the smell, may come and be caught in the honey; brawls between + neighbours who are getting into each other's way may send some dust flying + thither. All this refuse has to disappear and that quickly, lest + afterwards the larva should find coarse fare under its delicate mandibles. + Therefore the Mason-bees must be able to cleanse the cell of any foreign + body. And, in point of fact, they are well able to do so. + </p> + <p> + I place on the surface of the honey five or six bits of straw a millimetre + in length. (.039 inch.—Translator's Note.) Great astonishment on the + part of the returning insect. Never before have so many sweepings + accumulated in its warehouse. The Bee picks out the bits of straw, one by + one, to the very last, and each time goes and gets rid of them at a + distance. The effort is out of all proportion to the work: I see the Bee + soar above the nearest plane-tree, to a height of thirty feet, and fly + away beyond it to rid herself of her burden, a mere atom. She fears lest + she should litter the place by dropping her bit of straw on the ground, + under the nest. A thing like that must be carried very far away. + </p> + <p> + I place upon the honey-paste a Mason-bee's egg which I myself saw laid in + an adjacent cell. The Bee picks it out and throws it away at a distance, + as she did with the straws just now. There are two inferences to be drawn + from this, both extremely interesting. In the first place, that precious + egg, for whose future the Bee labours so indefatigably, becomes a + valueless, cumbersome, hateful thing when it belongs to another. Her own + egg is everything; the egg of her next door neighbour is nothing. It is + flung on the dust-heap like any bit of rubbish. The individual, so zealous + on behalf of her family, displays an abominable indifference for the rest + of her kind. Each one for himself. In the second place, I ask myself, + without as yet being able to find an answer to my question, how certain + parasites go to work to give their larva the benefit of the provisions + accumulated by the Mason-bee. If they decide to lay their egg on the + victuals in the open cell, the Bee, when she sees it, will not fail to + cast it out; if they decide to lay after the owner, they cannot do so, for + she blocks up the door as soon as her laying is done. This curious problem + must be reserved for future investigation. (Cf. "The Life of the Fly": + chapters 2 to 4; also later chapters in the present volume.—Translator's + Note.) + </p> + <p> + Lastly, I stick into the paste a bit of straw nearly an inch long and + standing well out above the rim of the cell. The insect extracts it by + dint of great efforts, dragging it away from one side; or else, with the + help of its wings, it drags it from above. It darts away with the + honey-smeared straw and gets rid of it at a distance, after flying over + the plane-tree. + </p> + <p> + This is where things begin to get complicated. I have said that, when the + time comes for laying, the Mason-bee arrives with a pellet of mortar + wherewith immediately to make a door to the house. The insect, with its + front legs resting on the rim, inserts its abdomen in the cell; it has the + mortar ready in its mouth. Having laid the egg, it comes out and turns + round to block the door. I wave it away for a second, at the same time + planting my straw as before, a straw sticking out nearly a centimetre. + (.39 inch.—Translator's Note.) What will the Bee do? Will she, who + is scrupulous in ridding the home of the least mote of dust, extract this + beam, which would certainly prove the larva's undoing by interfering with + its growth? She could, for just now we saw her drag out and throw away, at + a distance, a similar beam. + </p> + <p> + She could and she doesn't. She closes the cell, cements the lid, seals up + the straw in the thickness of the mortar. More journeys are taken, not a + few, in search of the cement required to strengthen the cover. Each time, + the mason applies the material with the most minute care, while giving the + straw not a thought. In this way, I obtain, one after the other, eight + closed cells whose lids are surmounted by my mast, a bit of protruding + straw. What evidence of obtuse intelligence! + </p> + <p> + This result is deserving of attentive consideration. At the moment when I + am inserting my beam, the insect has its mandibles engaged: they are + holding the pellet of mortar intended for the blocking-operation. As the + extracting-tool is not free, the extraction does not take place. I + expected to see the Bee relinquish her mortar and then proceed to remove + the encumbrance. A dab of mortar more or less is not a serious business. I + had already noticed that it takes my Mason-bees a journey of three or four + minutes to collect one. The pollen-expeditions last longer, a matter of + ten or fifteen minutes. To drop her pellet, grab the straw with her + mandibles, now disengaged, remove it and gather a fresh supply of cement + would entail a loss of five minutes at most. The Bee decides differently. + She will not, she cannot relinquish her pellet; and she uses it. No matter + that the larva will perish by this untimely trowelling: the moment has + come to wall up the door; the door is walled up. Once the mandibles are + free, the extraction could be attempted, at the risk of wrecking the lid. + But the Bee does nothing of the sort: she keeps on fetching mortar; and + the lid is religiously finished. + </p> + <p> + We might go on to say that, if the Bee were obliged to depart in quest of + fresh mortar after dropping the first to withdraw the straw, she would + leave the egg unguarded and that this would be an extreme measure which + the mother cannot bring herself to adopt. Then why does she not place the + pellet on the rim of the cell? The mandibles, now free, would remove the + beam; the pellet would be taken up again at once; and everything would go + to perfection. But no: the insect has its mortar and, come what may, + employs it on the work for which it was intended. + </p> + <p> + If any one sees a rudiment of reason in this Hymenopteron intelligence, he + has eyes that are more penetrating than mine. I see nothing in it all but + an invincible persistence in the act once begun. The cogs have gripped; + and the rest of the wheels must follow. The mandibles are fastened on the + pellet of mortar; and the idea, the wish to unfasten them will never occur + to the insect until the pellet has fulfilled its purpose. And here is a + still greater absurdity: the plugging once begun is very carefully + finished with fresh relays of mortar! Exquisite attention is paid to a + closing-up which is henceforth useless; no attention at all to the + dangerous beam. O little gleams of reason that are said to enlighten the + animal, you are very near the darkness, you are naught! + </p> + <p> + Another and still more eloquent fact will finally convince whoso may yet + be doubting. The ration of honey stored up in a cell is evidently measured + by the needs of the coming larva. There is neither too much nor too + little. How does the Bee know when the proper quantity is reached? The + cells are more or less constant in dimension, but they are not filled + completely, only to about two-thirds of their height. A large space is + therefore left empty; and the victualler has to judge of the moment when + the surface of the mess has attained the right level. The honey being + perfectly opaque, its depth is not apparent. I have to use a sounding-rod + when I want to gauge the contents of the jar; and I find, on the average, + that the honey reaches a depth of ten millimetres. (.39 inch.—Translator's + Note.) The Bee has not this resource; she has sight, which may enable her + to estimate the full section from the empty section. This presupposes the + possession of a somewhat geometric eye, capable of measuring the third of + a distance. If the insect did it by Euclid, that would be very brilliant + of it. What a magnificent proof in favour of its little intellect: a + Chalicodoma with a geometrician's eye, able to divide a straight line into + three equal parts! This is worth looking into seriously. + </p> + <p> + I take five cells, which are only partly provisioned, and empty them of + their honey with a wad of cotton held in my forceps. From time to time, as + the Bee brings new provisions, I repeat the cleansing-process, sometimes + clearing out the cell entirely, sometimes leaving a thin layer at the + bottom. I do not observe any pronounced hesitation on the part of my + plundered victims, even though they surprise me at the moment when I am + draining the jar; they continue their work with quiet industry. Sometimes, + two or three threads of cotton remain clinging to the walls of the cells: + the Bees remove them carefully and dart away to a distance, as usual, to + get rid of them. At last, a little sooner or a little later, the egg is + laid and the lid fastened on. + </p> + <p> + I break open the five closed cells. In one, the egg has been laid on three + millimetres of honey (.117 inch.—Translator's Note.); in two, on one + millimetre (.039 inch.—Translator's Note.); and, in the two others, + it is placed on the side of the receptacle drained of all its contents, + or, to be more accurate, having only the glaze, the varnish left by the + friction of the honey-covered cotton. + </p> + <p> + The inference is obvious: the Bee does not judge of the quantity of honey + by the elevation of the surface; she does not reason like a geometrician, + she does not reason at all. She accumulates so long as she feels within + her the secret impulse that prompts her to go on collecting until the + victualling is completed; she ceases to accumulate when that impulse is + satisfied, irrespective of the result, which in this case happens to be + worthless. No mental faculty, assisted by sight, informs her when she has + enough, or when she has too little. An instinctive predisposition is her + only guide, an infallible guide under normal conditions, but hopelessly + lost when subjected to the wiles of the experimenter. Had the Bee the + least glimmer of reason would she lay her egg on the third, on the tenth + part of the necessary provender? Would she lay it in an empty cell? Would + she be guilty of such inconceivable maternal aberration as to leave her + nurseling without nourishment? I have told the story; let the reader + decide. + </p> + <p> + This instinctive predisposition, which does not leave the insect free to + act and, through that very fact, saves it from error, bursts forth under + yet another aspect. Let us grant the Bee as much judgment as you please. + Thus endowed, will she be capable of meting out the future's larva's + portion? By no means. The Bee does not know what that portion is. There is + nothing to tell the materfamilias; and yet, at her first attempt, she + fills the honey-pot to the requisite depth. True, in her childhood she + received a similar ration, but she consumed it in the darkness of a cell; + and besides, as a grub, she was blind. Sight was not her informant: it did + not tell her the quantity of the provisions. Did memory, the memory of the + stomach that once digested them? But digestion took place a year ago; and + since that distant epoch, the nurseling, now an adult insect, has changed + its shape, its dwelling, its mode of life. It was a grub; it is a Bee. + Does the actual insect remember that childhood's meal? No more than we + remember the sups of milk drawn from our mother's breast. The Bee, + therefore, knows nothing of the quantity of provisions needed by her + larva, whether from memory, from example or from acquired experience. Then + what guides her when she makes her estimate with such precision? Judgment + and sight would leave the mother greatly perplexed, liable to provide too + much or not enough. To instruct her beyond the possibility of a mistake + demands a special tendency, an unconscious impulse, an instinct, an inward + voice that dictates the measure to be apportioned. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 8. PARASITES. + </h2> + <p> + In August or September, let us go into some gorge with bare and + sun-scorched sides. When we find a slope well-baked by the summer heat, a + quiet corner with the temperature of an oven, we will call a halt: there + is a fine harvest to be gathered there. This tropical land is the native + soil of a host of Wasps and Bees, some of them busily piling the household + provisions in underground warehouses: here a stack of Weevils, Locusts or + Spiders, there a whole assortment of Flies, Bees, Mantes or Caterpillars, + while others are storing up honey in membranous wallets or clay pots, or + else in cottony bags or urns made with the punched-out disks of leaves. + </p> + <p> + With the industrious folk who go quietly about their business, the + labourers, masons, foragers, warehousers, mingles the parasitic tribe, the + prowlers hurrying from one home to the next, lying in wait at the doors, + watching for a favourable opportunity to settle their family at the + expense of others. + </p> + <p> + A heart-rending struggle, in truth, is that which rules the insect world + and in a measure our own world too. No sooner has a worker, by dint of + exhausting labour, amassed a fortune for his children than the + non-producers come hastening up to contend for its possession. To one who + amasses there are sometimes five, six or more bent upon his ruin; and + often it ends not merely in robbery but in black murder. The worker's + family, the object of so much care, for whom that home was built and those + provisions stored, succumb, devoured by the intruders, directly the little + bodies have acquired the soft roundness of youth. Shut up in a cell that + is closed on every side, protected by its silken covering, the grub, once + its victuals are consumed, sinks into a profound slumber, during which the + organic changes needed for the future transformation take place. For this + new hatching, which is to turn a grub into a Bee, for this general + remodelling, the delicacy of which demands absolute repose, all the + precautions that make for safety have been taken. + </p> + <p> + These precautions will be foiled. The enemy will succeed in penetrating + the impregnable fortress; each foe has his special tactics, contrived with + appalling skill. See, an egg is inserted by means of a probe beside the + torpid larva; or else, in the absence of such an implement, an + infinitesimal grub, an atom, comes creeping and crawling, slips in and + reaches the sleeper, who will never wake again, already a succulent morsel + for her ferocious visitor. The interloper makes the victim's cell and + cocoon his own cell and his own cocoon; and next year, instead of the + mistress of the house, there will come from below ground the bandit who + usurped the dwelling and consumed the occupant. + </p> + <p> + Look at this one, striped black, white and red, with the figure of a + clumsy, hairy Ant. She explores the slope on foot, inspects every nook and + corner, sounds the soil with her antennae. She is a Mutilla, the scourge + of the cradled grubs. The female has no wings, but, being a Wasp, she + carries a sharp poniard. To novice eyes she would easily pass for a sort + of robust Ant, distinguished from the common ruck by her garb of staring + motley. The male, wide-winged and more gracefully shaped, hovers + incessantly a few inches above the sandy expanse. For hours at a time, on + the same spot, after the manner of the Scolia-wasp he spies the coming of + the females out of the ground. If our watch be patient and persevering, we + shall see the mother, after trotting about for a bit, stop somewhere and + begin to scratch and dig, finally laying bare a subterranean gallery, of + which there was nothing to betray the entrance; but she can discern what + is invisible to us. She penetrates into the abode, remains there for a + while and at last reappears to replace the rubbish and close the door as + it was at the start. The abominable deed is done: the Mutilla's egg has + been laid in another's cocoon, beside the slumbering larva on which the + newborn grub will feed. + </p> + <p> + Here are others, all aglitter with metallic gleams: gold, emerald, blue + and purple. They are the humming-birds of the insect-world, the + Chrysis-wasps, or Golden Wasps, another set of exterminators of the larvae + overcome with lethargy in their cocoons. In them, the atrocious assassin + of cradled children lies hidden under the splendour of the garb. One of + them, half emerald and half pale-pink, Parnopes carnea by name, boldly + enters the burrow of Bembex rostrata at the very moment when the mother is + at home, bringing a fresh piece to her larva, whom she feeds from day to + day. To the elegant criminal, unskilled in navvy's work, this is the one + moment to find the door open. If the mother were away, the house would be + shut up; and the Golden Wasp, that sneak-thief in royal robes, could not + get in. She enters, therefore, dwarf as she is, the house of the giantess + whose ruin she is meditating; she makes her way right to the back, all + heedless of the Bembex, her sting and her powerful jaws. What cares she + that the home is not deserted? Either unmindful of the danger or paralysed + with terror, the Bembex mother lets her have her way. + </p> + <p> + The unconcern of the invaded is equalled only by the boldness of the + invader. Have I not seen the Anthophora-bee, at the door to her dwelling, + stand a little to one side and make room for the Melecta to enter the + honey-stocked cells and substitute her family for the unhappy parent's? + One would think that they were two friends meeting on the threshold, one + going in, the other out! + </p> + <p> + It is written in the book of fate: everything shall happen without + impediment in the burrow of the Bembex; and next year, if we open the + cells of that mighty huntress of Gad-flies, we shall find some which + contain a russet-silk cocoon, the shape of a thimble with its orifice + closed with a flat lid. In this silky tabernacle, which is protected by + the hard outer shell, is a Parnopes carnea. As for the grub of the Bembex, + that grub which wove the silk and next encrusted the outer casing with + sand, it has disappeared entirely, all but the tattered remnants of its + skin. Disappeared how? The Golden Wasp's grub has eaten it. + </p> + <p> + Another of these splendid malefactors is decked in lapis-lazuli on the + thorax and in Florentine bronze and gold on the abdomen, with a terminal + scarf of azure. The nomenclators have christened her Stilbum calens, FAB. + When Eumenes Amedei (A species of Mason-wasp.—Translator's Note.) + has built on the rock her agglomeration of dome-shaped cells, with a + casing of little pebbles set in the plaster, when the store of + Caterpillars is consumed and the secluded ones have hung their apartments + with silk, we see the Stilbum take her stand on the inviolable citadel. No + doubt some imperceptible cranny, some defect in the cement, allows her to + insert her ovipositor, which shoots out like a probe. At any rate, about + the end of the following May, the Eumenes' chamber contains a cocoon which + again is shaped like a thimble. From this cocoon comes a Stilbum calens. + There is nothing left of the Eumenes' grub: the Golden Wasp has gorged + herself upon it. + </p> + <p> + Flies play no small part in this brigandage. Nor are they the least to be + dreaded, weaklings though they be, sometimes so feeble that the collector + dare not take them in his fingers for fear of crushing them. There are + some clad in velvet so extraordinarily delicate that the least touch rubs + it off. They are fluffs of down almost as frail, in their soft elegance, + as the crystalline edifice of a snowflake before it touches ground. They + are called Bombylii. + </p> + <p> + With this fragility of structure is combined an incomparable power of + flight. See this one, hovering motionless two feet above the ground. Her + wings vibrate so rapidly that they appear to be in repose. The insect + looks as though it were hung at one point in space by some invisible + thread. You make a movement; and the Bombylius has disappeared. You cast + your eyes in search of her around you, far away, judging the distance by + the vigour of her flight. There is nothing here, nothing there. Then where + is she? Close by you. Look at the point whence she started: the Bombylius + is there again, hovering motionless. From this aerial observatory, as + quickly recovered as quitted, she inspects the ground, watching for the + favourable moment to establish her egg at the cost of another creature's + destruction. What does she covet for her offspring: the honey-cupboard, + the stores of game, the larvae in their transformation-sleep? I do not + know yet, What I do know is that her slender legs and her dainty velvet + dress do not allow her to make underground searches. When she has found + the propitious place, suddenly she will swoop down, lay her egg on the + surface in that lightning touch with the tip of her abdomen and + straightway fly up again. What I suspect, for reasons set forth presently, + is that the grub that comes out of the Bombylius' egg must, of its own + motion, at its own risk and peril, reach the victuals which the mother + knows to be close at hand. She has no strength to do more; and it is for + the new-born grub to make its way into the refectory. + </p> + <p> + I am better acquainted with the manoeuvres of certain Tachinae, the + tiniest of pale-grey Flies, who, cowering on the sand in the sun, in the + neighbourhood of a burrow, patiently await the hour at which to strike the + fell blow. Let a Bembex-wasp return from the chase, with her Gad-fly; a + Philanthus, with her Bee; a Cerceris, with her Weevil; a Tachytes, with + her Locust: straightway the parasites are there, coming and going, turning + and twisting with the Wasp, always at her rear, without allowing + themselves to be put off by any cautious feints. At the moment when the + huntress goes indoors, with her captured game between her legs, they fling + themselves on her prey, which is on the point of disappearing underground, + and nimbly lay their eggs upon it. The thing is done in the twinkling of + an eye: before the threshold is crossed, the carcase holds the germs of a + new set of guests, who will feed on victuals not amassed for them and + starve the children of the house to death. + </p> + <p> + This other, resting on the burning sand, is also a member of the Fly + tribe; she is an Anthrax. (Cf. "The Life of the Fly": chapter 2.—Translator's + Note.) She has wide wings, spread horizontally, half smoked and half + transparent. She wears a dress of velvet, like the Bombylius, her near + neighbour in the official registers; but, though the soft down is similar + in fineness, it is very different in colour. Anthrax is Greek for coal. It + is a happy denomination, reminding us of the Fly's mourning livery, a + coal-black livery with silver tears. The same deep mourning garbs those + parasitic Bees, and these are the only instances known to me of that + violent opposition of dead black and white. + </p> + <p> + Nowadays, when men interpret everything with glorious assurance, when they + explain the Lion's tawny mane as due to the colour of the African desert, + attribute the Tiger's dark stripes to the streaks of shadow cast by the + bamboos and extricate any number of other magnificent things with the same + facility from the mists of the unknown, I should not be sorry to hear what + they have to say of the Melecta, the Crocisa and the Anthrax and of the + origin of their exceptional costume. + </p> + <p> + The word 'mimesis' has been invented for the express purpose of + designating the animal's supposed faculty of adapting itself to its + environment by imitating the objects around it, at least in the matter of + colouring. We are told that it uses this faculty to baffle its foes, or + else to approach its prey without alarming it. Finding itself the better + for this dissimulation, a source of prosperity indeed, each race, sifted + by the struggle for life, is considered to have preserved those + best-endowed with mimetic powers and to have allowed the others to become + extinct, thus gradually converting into a fixed characteristic what at + first was but a casual acquisition. The Lark became earth-coloured in + order to hide himself from the eyes of the birds of prey when pecking in + the fields; the Common Lizard adopted a grass-green tint in order to blend + with the foliage of the thickets in which he lurks; the + Cabbage-caterpillar guarded against the bird's beak by taking the colour + of the plant on which it feeds. And so with the rest. + </p> + <p> + In my callow youth, these comparisons would have interested me: I was just + ripe for that kind of science. In the evenings, on the straw of the + threshing-floor, we used to talk of the Dragon, the monster which, to + inveigle people and snap them up with greater certainty, became + indistinguishable from a rock, the trunk of a tree, a bundle of twigs. + Since those happy days of artless credulity, scepticism has chilled my + imagination to some extent. By way of a parallel with the three examples + which I have quoted, I ask myself why the White Wagtail, who seeks his + food in the furrows as does the Lark, has a white shirt-front surmounted + by a magnificent black stock. This dress is one of those most easily + picked out at a distance against the rusty colour of the soil. Whence this + neglect to practise mimesis, 'protective mimicry'? He has every need of + it, poor fellow, quite as much as his companion in the fields! + </p> + <p> + Why is the Eyed Lizard of Provence as green as the Common Lizard, + considering that he shuns verdure and chooses as his haunt, in the bright + sunlight, some chink in the naked rocks where not so much as a tuft of + moss grows? If, to capture his tiny prey, his brother in the copses and + the hedges thought it necessary to dissemble and consequently to dye his + pearl-embroidered coat, how comes it that the denizen of the sun-blistered + rocks persists in his blue-and-green colouring, which at once betrays him + against the whity-grey stone? Indifferent to mimicry, is he the less + skilful Beetle-hunter on that account, is his race degenerating? I have + studied him sufficiently to be able to declare with positive certainty + that he continues to thrive both in numbers and in vigour. + </p> + <p> + Why has the Spurge-caterpillar adopted for its dress the gaudiest colours + and those which contrast most with the green of the leaves which it + frequents? Why does it flaunt its red, black and white in patches clashing + violently with one another? Would it not be worth its while to follow the + example of the Cabbage-caterpillar and imitate the verdure of the plant + that feeds it? Has it no enemies? Of course it has: which of us, animals + and men, has not? + </p> + <p> + A string of these whys could be extended indefinitely. It would give me + amusement, did my time permit me, to counter each example of protective + mimicry with a host of examples to the contrary. What manner of law is + this which has at least ninety-nine exceptions in a hundred cases? Poor + human nature! There is a deceptive agreement between a few actual facts + and the theory which we are so foolishly ready to believe; and straightway + we interpret the facts in the light of the theory. In a speck of the + immense unknown we catch a glimpse of a phantom truth, a shadow, a + will-o'-the-wisp; once the atom is explained, for better or worse, we + imagine that we hold the explanation of the universe and all that it + contains; and we forthwith shout: + </p> + <p> + 'The great law of Nature! Behold the infallible law!' + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the discordant facts, an innumerable host, clamour at the gates + of the law, being unable to gain admittance. + </p> + <p> + At the door of that infinitely restricted law clamour the great tribe of + Golden Wasps, whose dazzling splendour, worthy of the wealth of Golconda, + clashes with the dingy colour of their haunts. To deceive the eyes of + their bird-tyrants, the Swift, the Swallow, the Chat and the others, these + Chrysis-wasps, who glow like a carbuncle, like a nugget in the midst of + its dark veinstone, certainly do not adapt themselves to the sand and the + clay of their downs. The Green Grasshopper, we are told, thought out a + plan for gulling his enemies by identifying himself in colour with the + grass in which he dwells, whereas the Wasp, so rich in instinct and + strategy, allowed herself to be distanced in the race by the dull-witted + Locust! Rather than adapt herself as the other does, she persists in her + incredible splendour, which betrays her from afar to every insect-eater + and in particular to the little Grey Lizard, who lies hungrily in wait for + her on the old sun-tapestried walls. She remains ruby, emerald and + turquoise amidst her grey environment; and her race thrives none the + worse. + </p> + <p> + The enemy that eats you is not the only one to be deceived; mimesis must + also play its colour-tricks on him whom you have to eat. See the Tiger in + his jungle, see the Praying Mantis on her green branch. (For the Praying + Mantis, cf. "Social Life in the Insect World", by J.H. Fabre, translated + by Bernard Miall: chapters 5 to 7.—Translator's Note.) Astute + mimicry is even more necessary when the one to be duped is an amphitryon + at whose cost the parasite's family is to be established. The Tachinae + seem to declare as much: they are grey or greyish, of a colour as + undecided as the dusty soil on which they cower while waiting for the + arrival of the huntress laden with her capture. But they dissemble in + vain: the Bembex, the Philanthus and the others see them from above, + before touching ground; they recognize them perfectly at a distance, + despite their grey costume. And so they hover prudently above the burrow + and strive, by sudden feints, to mislead the traitorous little Fly, who, + on her side, knows her business too well to allow herself to be enticed + away or to leave the spot where the other is bound to return. No, a + thousand times no: clay-coloured though they be, the Tachinae have no + better chance of attaining their ends than a host of other parasites whose + clothing is not of grey frieze to match the locality frequented, as + witness the glittering Chrysis, or the Melecta and the Crocisa, with their + white spots on a black ground. + </p> + <p> + We are also told that, the better to cozen his amphitryon, the parasite + adopts more or less the same shape and colouring; he turns himself, in + appearance, into a harmless neighbour, a worker belonging to the same + guild. Instance the Psithyrus, who lives at the expense of the Bumble-bee. + But in what, if you please, does Parnopes carnea resemble the Bembex into + whose home she penetrates in her presence? In what does the Melecta + resemble the Anthophora, who stands aside on her threshold to let her + pass? The difference of costume is most striking. The Melecta's deep + mourning has naught in common with the Anthophora's russet coat. The + Parnopes' emerald-and-carmine thorax possesses not the least feature of + resemblance with the black-and-yellow livery of the Bembex. And this + Chrysis also is a dwarf in comparison with the ardent Nimrod who goes + hunting Gad-flies. + </p> + <p> + Besides, what a curious idea, to make the parasite's success depend upon a + more or less faithful likeness with the insect to be robbed! Why, the + imitation would have exactly the opposite effect! With the exception of + the Social Bees, who work at a common task, failure would be certain, for + here, as among mankind, two of a trade never agree. An Osmia, an + Anthophora, a Chalicodoma had better be careful not to poke an indiscreet + head in at her neighbour's door: a sound drubbing would soon recall her to + a sense of the proprieties. She might easily find herself with a + dislocated shoulder or a mangled leg in return for a simple visit which + was perhaps prompted by no evil intention. Each for herself in her own + stronghold. But let a parasite appear, meditating foul play: that's a very + different thing. She can wear the trappings of Harlequin or of a + church-beadle; she can be the Clerus-beetle, in wing-cases of vermilion + with blue trimmings, or the Dioxys-bee, with a red scarf across her black + abdomen, and the mistress of the house will let her have her way, or, if + she become too pressing, will drive her off with a mere flick of her wing. + With her, there is no serious fray, no fierce fight. The Bludgeon is + reserved for the friend of the family. Now go and practice your mimesis in + order to receive a welcome from the Anthophora or the Chalicodoma! A few + hours spent with the insects themselves will turn any one into a hardened + scoffer at these artless theories. + </p> + <p> + To sum up, mimesis, in my eyes, is a piece of childishness. Were I not + anxious to remain polite, I should say that it is sheer stupidity; and the + word would express my meaning better. The variety of combinations in the + domain of possible things is infinite. It is undeniable that, here and + there, cases occur in which the animal harmonizes with surrounding + objects. It would even be very strange if such cases were excluded from + actuality, since everything is possible. But these rare coincidences are + faced, under exactly similar conditions, by inconsistencies so strongly + marked and so numerous that, having frequency on their side, they ought, + in all logic, to serve as the basis of the law. Here, one fact says yes; + there, a thousand facts say no. To which evidence shall we lend an ear? If + we only wish to bolster up a theory, it would be prudent to listen to + neither. The how and why escapes us; what we dignify with the pretentious + title of a law is but a way of looking at things with our mind, a very + squint-eyed way, which we adopt for the requirements of our case. Our + would-be laws contain but an infinitesimal shade of reality; often indeed + they are but puffed out with vain imaginings. Such is the law of mimesis, + which explains the Green Grasshopper by the green leaves in which this + Locust settles and is silent as to the Crioceris, that coral-red Beetle + who lives on the no less green leaves of the lily. + </p> + <p> + And it is not only a mistaken interpretation: it is a clumsy pitfall in + which novices allow themselves to be caught. Novices, did I say? The + greatest experts themselves fall into the trap. One of our masters of + entomology did me the honour to visit my laboratory. I was showing my + collection of parasites. One of them, clad in black and yellow, attracted + his attention. + </p> + <p> + 'This,' said he, 'is obviously a parasite of the Wasps.' + </p> + <p> + Surprised at the statement, I interposed: + </p> + <p> + 'By what signs do you know her?' + </p> + <p> + 'Why look: it's the exact colouring of the Wasp, a mixture of black and + yellow. It is a most striking case of mimesis.' + </p> + <p> + 'Just so; nevertheless, our black-and-yellow friend is a parasite of the + Chalicodoma of the Walls, who has nothing in common, either in shape or + colour, with the Wasp. This is a Leucopsis, not one of whom enters the + Wasps' nest.' + </p> + <p> + 'Then mimesis...?' + </p> + <p> + 'Mimesis is an illusion which we should do well to relegate to oblivion.' + </p> + <p> + And, with the evidence, a whole series of conclusive examples, in front of + him, my learned visitor admitted with a good grace that his first + convictions were based on a most ludicrous foundation. + </p> + <p> + A piece of advice to beginners: you will go wrong a thousand times for + once that you are right if, when anxious to obtain a premature sight of + the probable habits of an insect, you take mimesis as your guide. With + mimesis above all, it is wise, when the law says that a thing is black, + first to enquire whether it does not happen to be white. + </p> + <p> + Let us go on to more serious subjects and enquire into parasitism itself, + without troubling any longer about the costume of the parasite. According + to etymology, a parasite is one who eats another's bread, one who lives on + the provisions of others. Entomology often alters this term from its real + meaning. Thus it describes as parasites the Chrysis, the Mutilla, the + Anthrax, the Leucopsis, all of whom feed their family not on the + provisions amassed by others, but on the very larvae which have consumed + those provisions, their actual property. When the Tachinae have succeeded + in laying their eggs on the game warehoused by the Bembex, the burrower's + home is invaded by real parasites, in the strict sense of the word. Around + the heap of Gad-flies, collected solely for the children of the house, new + guests force their way, numerous and hungry, and without the least + ceremony plunge into the thick of it. They sit down to a table that was + not laid for them; they eat side by side with the lawful owner; and this + in such haste that he dies of starvation, though he is respected by the + teeth of the interlopers who have gorged themselves on his portion. + </p> + <p> + When the Melecta has substituted her egg for the Anthophora's, here again + we see a real parasite settling in the usurped cell. The pile of honey + laboriously gathered by the mother will not even be broken in upon by the + nurseling for which it was intended. Another will profit by it, with none + to say him nay. Tachinae and Melectae: those are the true parasites, + consumers of others' goods. + </p> + <p> + Can we say as much of the Chrysis or the Mutilla? In no wise. The Scoliae, + whose habits are known to us, are certainly not parasites. (The habits of + the Scolia-wasp have been described in different essays not yet translated + into English.—Translator's Note.) No one will accuse them of + stealing the food of others. Zealous workers, they seek and find under + ground the fat grubs on which their family will feed. They follow the + chase by virtue of the same quality as the most renowned hunters, + Cerceris, Sphex or Ammophila; only, instead of removing the game to a + special lair, they leave it where it is, down in the burrow. Homeless + poachers, they let their venison be consumed on the spot where it is + caught. + </p> + <p> + In what respect do the Mutilla, the Chrysis, the Leucopsis, the Anthrax + and so many others differ, in their way of living, from the Scolia? It + seems to me, in none. See for yourselves. By an artifice that varies + according to the mother's talent, their grubs, either in the germ-stage or + newly-born, are brought into touch with the victim that is to feed them: + an unwounded victim, for most of them are without a sting; a live victim, + but steeped in the torpor of the coming transformations and thus delivered + without defence to the grub that is to devour it. + </p> + <p> + With them, as with the Scoliae, meals are made on the spot on game + legitimately acquired by indefatigable battues or by patient stalking in + which all the rules have been observed; only, the animal hunted is + defenceless and does not need to be laid low with a dagger-thrust. To seek + and find for one's larder a torpid prey incapable of resistance is, if you + like, less meritorious than heroically to stab the strong-jawed + Rose-chafer or Rhinoceros-beetle; but since when has the title of + sportsman been denied to him who blows out the brains of a harmless + Rabbit, instead of waiting without flinching for the furious charge of the + Wild Boar and driving his hunting-knife into him behind his shoulder? + Besides, if the actual assault is without danger, the approach is attended + with a difficulty that increases the merit of these second-rate poachers. + The coveted game is invisible. It is confined in the stronghold of a cell + and moreover protected by the surrounding wall of a cocoon. Of what + prowess must not the mother be capable to determine the exact spot at + which it lies and to lay her egg on its side or at least close by? For + these reasons, I boldly number the Chrysis, the Mutilla and their rivals + among the hunters and reserve the ignoble title of parasites for the + Tachina, the Melecta, the Crocisa, the Meloe-beetle, in short, for all + those who feed on the provisions of others. + </p> + <p> + All things considered, is ignoble the right epithet to apply to + parasitism? No doubt, in the human race, the idler who feeds at other + people's tables is contemptible at all points; but must the animal bear + the burden of the indignation inspired by our own vices? Our parasites, + our scurvy parasites, live at their neighbour's expense: the animal never; + and this changes the whole aspect of the question. I know of no instance, + not one, excepting man, of parasites who consume the provisions hoarded by + a worker of the same species. There may be, here and there, a few cases of + larceny, of casual pillage among hoarders belonging to the same trade: + that I am quite ready to admit, but it does not affect things. What would + be really serious and what I formally deny is that, in the same zoological + species, there should be some who possessed the attribute of living at the + expense of the rest. In vain do I consult my memory and my notes: my long + entomological career does not furnish me with a solitary example of such a + misdeed as that of an insect leading the life of a parasite upon its + fellows. + </p> + <p> + When the Chalicodoma of the Sheds works, in her thousands, at her + Cyclopean edifice, each has her own home, a sacred home where not one of + the tumultuous swarm, except the proprietress, dreams of taking a mouthful + of honey. It is as though there were a neighbourly understanding to + respect the others' rights. Moreover, if some heedless one mistakes her + cell and so much as alights on the rim of a cup that does not belong to + her, forthwith the owner appears, admonishes her severely and soon calls + her to order. But, if the store of honey is the estate of some deceased + Bee, or of some wanderer unduly prolonging her absence, then—and + then alone—a kinswoman seizes upon it. The goods were waste + property, which she turns to account; and it is a very proper economy. The + other Bees and Wasps behave likewise: never, I say never, do we find among + them an idler assiduously planning the conquest of her neighbour's + possessions. No insect is a parasite on its own species. + </p> + <p> + What then is parasitism, if one must look for it among animals of + different races? Life in general is but a vast brigandage. Nature devours + herself; matter is kept alive by passing from one stomach into another. At + the banquet of life, each is in turn the guest and the dish; the eater of + to-day becomes the eaten of tomorrow; hodie tibi, cras mihi. Everything + lives on that which lives or has lived; everything is parasitism. Man is + the great parasite, the unbridled thief of all that is fit to eat. He + steals the milk from the Lamb, he steals the honey from the children of + the Bee, even as the Melecta pilfers the pottage of the Anthophora's sons. + The two cases are similar. Is it the vice of indolence? No, it is the + fierce law which for the life of the one exacts the death of the other. + </p> + <p> + In this implacable struggle of devourers and devoured, of pillagers and + pillaged, of robbers and robbed, the Melecta deserves no more than we the + title of ignoble; in ruining the Anthophora, she is but imitating man in + one detail, man who is the infinite source of destruction. Her parasitism + is no blacker than ours: she has to feed her offspring; and, possessing no + harvesting-tools, ignorant besides of the art of harvesting, she uses the + provisions of others who are better endowed with implements and talents. + In the fierce riot of empty bellies, she does what she can with the gifts + at her disposal. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 9. THE THEORY OF PARASITISM. + </h2> + <p> + The Melecta does what she can with the gifts at her disposal. I should + leave it at that, if I had not to take into consideration a grave charge + brought against her. She is accused of having lost, for want of use and + through laziness, the workman's tools with which, so we are told, she was + originally endowed. Finding it to her advantage to do nothing, bringing up + her family free of expense, to the detriment of others, she is alleged to + have gradually inspired her race with an abhorrence for work. The + harvesting-tools, less and less often employed, dwindled and perished as + organs having no function; the species changed into a different one; and + finally idleness turned the honest worker of the outset into a parasite. + This brings us to a very simple and seductive theory of parasitism, worthy + to be discussed with all respect. Let us set it forth. + </p> + <p> + Some mother, nearing the end of her labours and in a hurry to lay her + eggs, found, let us suppose, some convenient cells provisioned by her + fellows. There was no time for nest-building and foraging; if she would + save her family, she must perforce appropriate the fruit of another's + toil. Thus relieved of the tedium and fatigue of work, freed of every care + but that of laying eggs, she left a progeny which duly inherited the + maternal slothfulness and handed this down in its turn, in a more and more + accentuated form, as generation followed on generation; for the struggle + for life made this expeditious way of establishing yourself one of the + most favourable conditions for the success of the offspring. At the same + time, the organs of work, left unemployed, became atrophied and + disappeared, while certain details of shape and colouring were modified + more or less, so as to adapt themselves to the new circumstances. Thus the + parasitic race was definitely established. + </p> + <p> + This race, however, was not too greatly transformed for us to be able, in + certain cases, to trace its origin. The parasite has retained more than + one feature of those industrious ancestors. So, for instance, the + Psithyrus is extremely like the Bumble-bee, whose parasite and descendant + she is. The Stelis preserves the ancestral characteristics of the + Anthidium; the Coelioxys-bee recalls the Leaf-cutter. + </p> + <p> + Thus speak the evolutionists, with a wealth of evidence derived not only + from correspondence in general appearance, but also from similarity in the + most minute particulars. Nothing is small: I am as much convinced of that + as any man; and I admire the extraordinary precision of the details + furnished as a basis for the theory. But am I convinced? Rightly or + wrongly, my turn of mind does not hold minutiae of structure in great + favour: a joint of the palpi leaves me rather cold; a tuft of bristles + does not appear to me an unanswerable argument. I prefer to question the + creature direct and to let it describe its passions, its mode of life, its + aptitudes. Having heard its evidence, we shall see what becomes of the + theory of parasitism. + </p> + <p> + Before calling upon it to speak, why should I not say what I have on my + mind? And mark me, first of all, I do not like that laziness which is said + to favour the animal's prosperity. I have also believed and I still + persist in believing that activity alone strengthens the present and + ensures the future both of animals and men. To act is to live; to work is + to go forward. The energy of a race is measured by the aggregate of its + action. + </p> + <p> + No, I do not like it at all, this idleness so much commended of science. + We have quite enough of these zoological brutalities: man, the son of the + Ape; duty, a foolish prejudice; conscience, a lure for the simple; genius, + neurosis; patriotism, jingo heroics; the soul, a product of protoplasmic + energies; God, a puerile myth. Let us raise the war-whoop and go out for + scalps; we are here only to devour one another; the summum bonum is the + Chicago packer's dollar-chest! Enough, quite enough of that, without + having transformism next to break down the sacred law of work. I will not + hold it responsible for our moral ruin; it has not a sturdy enough + shoulder to effect such a breach; but still it has done its worst. + </p> + <p> + No, once more, I do not like those brutalities which, denying all that + gives some dignity to our wretched life, stifle our horizon under an + extinguisher of matter. Oh, don't come and forbid me to think, though it + were but a dream, of a responsible human personality, of conscience, of + duty, of the dignity of labour! Everything is linked together: if the + animal is better off, as regards both itself and its race, for doing + nothing and exploiting others, why should man, its descendant, show + greater scruples? The principle that idleness is the mother of prosperity + would carry us far indeed. I have said enough on my own account; I will + call upon the animals themselves, more eloquent than I. + </p> + <p> + Are we so very sure that parasitic habits come from a love of inaction? + Did the parasite become what he is because he found it excellent to do + nothing? Is repose so great an advantage to him that he abjured his + ancient customs in order to obtain it? Well, since I have been studying + the Bee who endows her family with the property of others, I have not yet + seen anything in her that points to slothfulness. On the contrary, the + parasite leads a laborious life, harder than that of the worker. Watch her + on a slope blistered by the sun. How busy she is, how anxious! How briskly + she covers every inch of the radiant expanse, how indefatigable she is in + her endless quests; in her visits, which are generally fruitless! Before + coming upon a nest that suits her, she has dived a hundred times into + cavities of no value, into galleries not yet victualled. And then, however + kindly her host, the parasite is not always well received in the hostelry. + No, it is not all roses in her trade. The expenditure of time and labour + which she finds necessary in order to house an egg may easily equal or + even exceed that of the worker in building her cell and filling it with + honey. That industrious one has regular and continuous work, an excellent + condition for success in her egg-laying; the other has a thankless and + precarious task, at the mercy of a thousand accidents which endanger the + great undertaking of installing the eggs. One has only to watch the + prolonged hesitation of a Coelioxys seeking for the Leaf-cutters' cells to + recognize that the usurpation of another's nest is not effected without + serious difficulties. If she turned parasite in order to make the rearing + of her offspring easier and more prosperous, certainly she was very + ill-inspired. Instead of rest, hard work; instead of a flourishing family, + a meagre progeny. + </p> + <p> + To generalities, which are necessarily vague, we will add some precise + facts. A certain Stelis (Stelis nasuta, LATR.) is a parasite of the + Mason-bee of the Walls. When the Chalicodoma has finished building her + dome of cells upon her pebble, the parasite appears, makes a long + inspection of the outside of the home and proposes, puny as she is, to + introduce her eggs into this cement fortress. Everything is most carefully + closed: a layer of rough plaster, at least two-fifths of an inch thick, + entirely covers the central accumulation of cells, which are each of them + sealed with a thick mortar plug. And it is the honey of these well-guarded + chambers that has to be reached by piercing a wall almost as hard as rock. + </p> + <p> + The parasite pluckily sets to; the idler becomes a glutton for work. Atom + by atom, she perforates the general enclosure and scoops out a shaft just + sufficient for her passage; she reaches the lid of the cell and gnaws it + until the coveted provisions appear in sight. It is a slow and painful + process, in which the feeble Stelis wears herself out, for the mortar is + much the same as Roman cement in hardness. I myself find a difficulty in + breaking it with the point of my knife. What patient effort, then, the + task requires from the parasite, with her tiny pincers! + </p> + <p> + I do not know exactly how long the Stelis takes to make her + entrance-shaft, as I have never had the opportunity or rather the patience + to follow the work from start to finish; but what I do know is that a + Chalicodoma of the Walls, incomparably larger and stronger than the + parasite, when demolishing before my eyes the lid of a cell sealed only + the day before, was unable to complete her undertaking in one afternoon. I + had to come to her assistance in order to discover, before the end of the + day, the object of her housebreaking. When the Mason-bee's mortar has once + set, its resistance is that of stone. Now the Stelis has not only to + pierce the lid of the honey-store; she must also pierce the general casing + of the nest. What a time it must take her to get through such a task, a + gigantic one for her poor tools! + </p> + <p> + It is done at last, after infinite labour. The honey appears. The Stelis + slips through and, on the surface of the provisions, side by side with the + Chalicodoma's eggs, the number varying from time to time. The victuals + will be the common property of all the new arrivals, whether the son of + the house or strangers. + </p> + <p> + The violated dwelling cannot remain as it is, exposed to marauders from + without; the parasite must herself wall up the breach which she has + contrived. The quondam housebreaker becomes a builder. At the foot of the + pebble, the Stelis collects a little of that red earth which characterizes + our stony plateaus grown with lavender and thyme; she makes it into mortar + by wetting it with saliva; and with the pellets thus prepared she fills up + the entrance-shaft, displaying all the care and art of a regular + master-mason. Only, the work clashes in colour with the Chalicodoma's. The + Bee goes and gathers her cementing-powder on the adjoining high-road, the + metal of which consists of broken flint-stones, and very seldom uses the + red earth under the pebble supporting the nest. This choice is apparently + dictated by the fact that the chemical properties of the former are more + likely to produce a solid structure. The lime of the road, mixed with + saliva, yields a harder cement than red clay would do. At any rate, the + Chalicodoma's nest is more or less white because of the source of its + materials. When a red speck, a few millimetres wide, appears on this pale + background, it is a sure sign that a Stelis has been that way. Open the + cell that lies under the red stain: we shall find the parasite's numerous + family established there. The rusty spot is an infallible indication that + the dwelling has been violated: at least, it is so in my neighbourhood, + where the soil is as I have described. + </p> + <p> + We see the Stelis, therefore, at first a rabid miner, using her mandibles + against the rock; next a kneader of clay and a plasterer restoring broken + ceilings. Her trade does not seem one of the least arduous. Now what did + she do before she took to parasitism? Judging from her appearance, the + transformists tell us that she was an Anthidium, that is to say, she used + to gather the soft cotton-wool from the dry stalks of the lanate plants + and fashion it into wallets, in which to heap up the pollen-dust which she + gleaned from the flowers by means of a brush carried on her abdomen. Or + else, springing from a genus akin to the cotton-workers, she used to build + resin partitions in the spiral stairway of a dead Snail. Such was the + trade driven by her ancestors. + </p> + <p> + Really! So, to avoid slow and painful work, to achieve an easy life, to + give herself the leisure favourable to the settlement of her family, the + erstwhile cotton-presser or collector of resin-drops took to gnawing + hardened cement! She who once sipped the nectar of flowers made up her + mind to chew concrete! Why, the poor wretch toils at her filing like a + galley-slave! She spends more time in ripping up a cell than it would take + her to make a cotton wallet and fill it with food. If she really meant to + progress, to do better in her own interest and that of her family, by + abandoning the delicate occupations of the old days, we must confess that + she has made a strange mistake. The mistake would be no greater if fingers + accustomed to fancy-weaving were to lay aside velvet and silk and proceed + to handle the quarryman's blocks or to break stones on the roadside. + </p> + <p> + No, the animal does not commit the folly of voluntarily embittering its + lot; it does not, in obedience to the promptings of idleness, give up one + condition to embrace another and a more irksome; should it blunder for + once, it will not inspire its posterity with a wish to persevere in a + costly delusion. No, the Stelis never abandoned the delicate art of + cotton-weaving to break down walls and to grind cement, a class of work + far too unattractive to efface the memory of the joys of harvesting amid + the flowers. Indolence has not evolved her from an Anthidium. She has + always been what she is to-day: a patient artificer in her own line, a + steady worker at the task that has fallen to her share. + </p> + <p> + That hurried mother who first, in remote ages, broke into the abode of her + fellows to secure a home for her eggs found this unscrupulous method, so + you tell us, very favourable to the success of her race, by virtue of its + economy of time and trouble. The impression left by this new policy was so + profound that heredity bequeathed it to posterity, in ever-increasing + proportions, until at last parasitic habits became definitely fixed. The + Chalicodoma of the Sheds, followed by the Three-horned Osmia, will teach + us what to think of this conjecture. + </p> + <p> + I have described in an earlier chapter my installation of + Chalicodoma-hives against the walls of a porch facing the south. Here, on + a level with my head, placed so that they can easily be observed, hang + some tiles removed from the neighbouring roofs in winter, together with + their enormous nests and their occupants. Every May, for five or six years + in succession, I have assiduously watched the works of my Mason-bees. From + the mass of my notes on the subject I take the following experiments which + bear upon the matter under discussion. + </p> + <p> + Long ago, when I used to scatter a handful of Chalicodomae some way from + home, in order to study their capacity for finding their nest again, I + noticed that, if they were too long absent, the laggards found their cells + closed on their return. Neighbours had taken the opportunity to lay their + eggs there, after finishing the building and stocking it with provisions. + The abandoned property benefited another. On realizing the usurpation, the + Bee returning from her long journey soon consoled herself for the mishap. + She began to break the seals of some cell or other, adjoining her own; the + rest let her have her way, being doubtless too busy with their present + labours to seek a quarrel with the freebooter. As soon as she had + destroyed the lid, the Bee, with a sort of feverish haste that burned to + repay theft by theft, did a little building, did a little victualling, as + though to resume the thread of her occupations, destroyed the egg in + being, laid her own and closed the cell again. Here was a touch of nature + that deserved careful examination. + </p> + <p> + At eleven o'clock in the morning, when the work is at its height, I mark + half-a-score of Chalicodomae with different colours, to distinguish them + from one another. Some are occupied with building, others are disgorging + honey. I mark the corresponding cells in the same way. As soon as the + marks are quite dry, I catch the ten Bees, place them singly in screws of + paper and shut them all in a box until the next morning. After twenty-four + hours' captivity, the prisoners are released. During their absence, their + cells have disappeared under a layer of recent structures; or, if still + exposed to view, they are closed and others have made use of them. + </p> + <p> + As soon as they are free, the ten Bees, with one exception, return to + their respective tiles. They do more than this, so accurate is their + memory, despite the confusion resulting from a prolonged incarceration: + they return to the cell which they have built, the beloved stolen cell; + they minutely explore the outside of it, or at least what lies nearest to + it, if the cell has disappeared under the new structures. In cases where + the home is not henceforward inaccessible, it is at least occupied by a + strange egg and the door is securely fastened. To this reverse of fortune + the ousted ones retort with the brutal lex talionis: an egg for an egg, a + cell for a cell. You've stolen my house; I'll steal yours. And, without + much hesitation, they proceed to force the lid of a cell that suits them. + Sometimes they recover possession of their own home, if it is possible to + get into it; sometimes and more frequently they seize upon some one + else's, even at a considerable distance from their original dwelling. + </p> + <p> + Patiently they gnaw the mortar lid. As the general rough-cast covering all + the cells is not applied until the end of the work, all that they need do + is to demolish the lid, a hard and wearisome task, but not beyond the + strength of their mandibles. They therefore attack the door, the cement + disk, and reduce it to dust. The criminal is allowed to carry out her + nefarious designs without the slightest interference or protest from any + of her neighbours, though these must necessarily include the chief party + interested. The Bee is as forgetful of her cell of yesterday as she is + jealous of her actual cell. To her the present is everything; the past + means nothing; and the future means no more. And so the population of the + tile leave the breakers of doors to do their business in peace; none + hastens to the defence of a home that might well be her own. How + differently things would happen if the cell were still on the stocks! But + it dates back to yesterday, to the day before; and no one gives it another + thought. + </p> + <p> + It's done: the lid is demolished; access is free. For some time, the Bee + stands bending over the cell, her head half-buried in it, as though in + contemplation. She goes away, she returns undecidedly; at last she makes + up her mind. The egg is snapped up from the surface of the honey and flung + on the rubbish-heap with no more ceremony than if the Bee were ridding the + house of a bit of dirt. I have witnessed this hideous crime again and yet + again; I confess to having repeatedly provoked it. In housing her egg, the + Mason-bee displays a brutal indifference to the fate of her neighbour's + egg. + </p> + <p> + I see some of them afterwards busy provisioning, disgorging honey and + brushing pollen into the cell already completely provisioned; I see some + masoning a little at the orifice, or at least laying on a few trowels of + mortar. It seems as if the Bee, although the victuals and the building are + just as they should be, were resuming the work at the point at which she + left it twenty-four hours before. Lastly, the egg is laid and the opening + closed up. Of my captives, one, less patient than the rest, rejects the + slow process of eating away the cover and decides in favour of robbery + with violence, on the principle that might is right. She dislodges the + owner of a half-stocked cell, keeps good watch for a long time on the + threshold of the home and, when she feels herself the mistress of the + house, goes on with the provisioning. I follow the ousted proprietress + with my eyes. I see her seize upon a closed cell by breaking into it, + behaving in all respects like my imprisoned Chalicodomae. + </p> + <p> + The whole occurrence was too significant to be left without further + confirmation. I repeated the experiment, therefore, almost every year, + always with the same success. I can only add that, among the Bees placed + by my artifices under the necessity of making up for lost time, a few are + of a more easy-going temperament. I see some building anew, as if nothing + out of the way had happened; others—this is a very rare course—going + to settle on another tile, as though to avoid a society of thieves; and + lastly a few who bring pellets of mortar and zealously finish the lid of + their own cell, although it contains a strange egg. However, housebreaking + is the usual thing. + </p> + <p> + One more detail not without value: it is not necessary for you to + intervene and imprison Mason-bees for a time in order to witness the acts + of violence which I have described. If you follow the work of the swarm + assiduously, you may occasionally find a surprise awaiting you. A + Mason-bee will appear and, for no reason known to you, break open a door + and lay her egg in the violated cell. From what goes before, I look upon + the Bee as a laggard, kept away from the workyard by an accident, or else + carried to a distance by a gust of wind. On returning after an absence of + some duration, she finds her place taken, her cell used by another. The + victim of an usurper's villainy, like the prisoners in my paper screws, + she behaves as they do and indemnifies herself for her loss by breaking + into another's home. + </p> + <p> + Lastly, it was a matter of learning the behaviour, after their act of + violence, of the Masons who have smashed in a door, brutally expelled the + egg within and replaced it by one of their own laying. When the lid is + repaired to look as good as new and everything restored to order, will + they continue their burglarious ways and exterminate the eggs of others to + make room for their own? By no means. Revenge, that pleasure of the gods + and perhaps also of Bees, is satisfied after one cell has been ripped + open. All anger is appeased when the egg for which so much work has been + done is safely housed. Henceforth, both prisoners and stray laggards + resume their ordinary labours, indifferently with the rest. They build + honestly, they provision honestly, nor meditate further evil. The past is + quite forgotten until a fresh disaster occurs. + </p> + <p> + To return to the parasites: a mother chanced to find herself the mistress + of another's nest. She took advantage of this to entrust her egg to it. + This expeditious method, so easy for the mother and so favourable to the + success of her offspring, made such an impression on her that she + transmitted the maternal indolence to her posterity. Thus the worker + gradually became transformed into a parasite. + </p> + <p> + Capital! The thing goes like clockwork, as long as we have only to put our + ideas on paper. But let us just consult the facts, if you don't mind; + before arguing about probabilities, let us look into things as they are. + Here is the Mason-bee of the Sheds teaching us something very curious. To + smash the lid of a cell that does not belong to her, to throw the egg out + of doors and put her own in its place is a practice which she has followed + since time began. There is no need of my interference to make her commit + burglary: she commits it of her own accord, when her rights are prejudiced + as the result of a too-long absence. Ever since her race has been kneading + cement, she has known the law of retaliation. Countless ages, such as the + evolutionists require, have made her adopt forcible usurpation as an + inveterate habit. Moreover, robbery is so incomparably easy for the + mother. No more cement to scratch up with her mandibles on the hard + ground, no more mortar to knead, no more clay walls to build, no more + pollen to gather on hundreds and hundreds of journeys. All is ready, board + and lodging. Never was a better opportunity for allowing one's self a good + time. There is nothing against it. The others, the workers, are + imperturbable in their good-humour. Their outraged cells leave them + profoundly indifferent. There are no brawls to fear, no protests. Now or + never is the moment to tread the primrose path. + </p> + <p> + Besides, your progeny will be all the better for it. You can choose the + warmest and wholesomest spots; you can multiply your laying-operations by + devoting to them all the time that you would have to spend on irksome + occupations. If the impression produced by the violent seizure of + another's property is strong enough to be handed down by heredity, how + deep should be the impression of the actual moment when the Mason-bee is + in the first flush of success! The precious advantage is fresh in the + memory, dating from that very instant; the mother has but to continue in + order to create a method of installation favourable in the highest degree + to her and hers. Come, poor Bee! Throw aside your exhausting labours, + follow the evolutionists' advice and, as you have the means at your + disposal, become a parasite! + </p> + <p> + But no, having effected her little revenge, the builder returns to her + masonry, the gleaner to her gleaning, with unquenchable zeal. She forgets + the crime committed in a moment of anger and takes good care not to hand + down any tendency towards idleness to her offspring. She knows too well + that activity is life, that work is the world's great joy. What myriads of + cells has she not broken open since she has been building; what + magnificent opportunities, all so clear and conclusive, has she not had to + emancipate herself from drudgery! Nothing could convince her: born to + work, she persists in an industrious life. She might at least have + produced an offshoot, a race of housebreakers, who would invade cells by + demolishing doors. The Stelis does something of the kind; but who would + think of proclaiming a relationship between the Chalicodoma and her? The + two have nothing in common. I call for a scion of the Mason-bee of the + Sheds who shall live by the art of breaking through ceilings. Until they + show me one, the theorists will only make me smile when they talk to me of + erstwhile workers relinquishing their trade to become parasitic sluggards. + </p> + <p> + I also call, with no less insistence, for a descendant of the Three-horned + Osmia, a descendant given to demolishing party-walls. I will describe + later how I managed to make a whole swarm of these Osmiae build their + nests on the table in my study, in glass tubes that enabled me to see the + inmost secrets of the work of the Bee. (Cf. "Bramble-bees and Others", by + J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chapters 1 to + 7.—Translator's Note.) For three or four weeks, each Osmia is + scrupulously faithful to her tube, which is laboriously filled with a set + of chambers divided by earthen partitions. Marks of different colours + painted on the thorax of the workers enable me to recognize individuals in + the crowd. Each crystal gallery is the exclusive property of one Osmia; no + other enters it, builds in it or hoards in it. If, through heedlessness, + through momentary forgetfulness of her own house in the tumult of the + city, some neighbour so much as comes and looks in at the door, the owner + soon puts her to flight. No such indiscretion is tolerated. Every Bee has + her home and every home its Bee. + </p> + <p> + All goes well until just before the end of the work. The tubes are then + closed at the orifice with a thick plug of earth; nearly the whole swarm + has disappeared; there remain on the spot a score of tatterdemalions in + threadbare fleeces, worn out by a month's hard toil. These laggards have + not finished their laying. There is no lack of unoccupied tubes, for I + take care to remove some of those which are full and to replace them by + others that have not yet been used. Very few of the Bees decide to take + possession of these new homes, which differ in no particular from the + earlier ones; and even then they build only a small number of cells, which + are often mere attempts at partitions. + </p> + <p> + They want something different: a nest belonging to some one else. They + bore through the stopper of the inhabited tubes, a work of no great + difficulty, for we have here not the hard cement of the Chalicodoma, but a + simple lid of dried mud. When the entrance is cleared, a cell appears, + with its store of provisions and its egg, with her brutal mandibles; she + rips it open and goes and flings it away. She does worse: she eats it on + the spot. I had to witness this horror many times over before I could + accept it as a fact. Note that the egg devoured may very well contain the + criminal's own offspring. Imperiously swayed by the needs of her present + family, the Osmia puts her past family entirely out of her mind. + </p> + <p> + Having perpetrated this child-murder, the depraved creature does a little + provisioning. They all experience the same necessity to go backwards in + the sequence of actions in order to pick up the thread of their + interrupted occupations. Her next work is to lay her egg and then she + conscientiously restores the demolished lid. + </p> + <p> + The havoc can be more sweeping still. One of these laggards is not + satisfied with a single cell; she needs two, three, four. To reach the + most remote, the Osmia wrecks all those which come before it. The + partitions are broken down, the eggs eaten or thrown away, the provisions + swept outside and often even carried to a distance in great lumps. Covered + with dust from the loose plaster of the demolition, floured all over with + the rifled pollen, sticky with the contents of the mangled eggs, the + Osmia, while at her brigand's work, is altered beyond recognition. Once + the place is cleared, everything resumes its normal course. Provisions are + laboriously brought to take the place of those which have been thrown + away; eggs are laid, one on each heap of food; the partitions are built up + again; and the massive plug sealing the whole structure is made as good as + new. + </p> + <p> + Crimes of this kind recur so often that I am obliged to interfere and + place in safety the nests which I wish to keep intact. And nothing as yet + explains this brigandage, bursting forth at the end of the work like a + moral epidemic, like a frenzied delirium. I should say nothing if the site + were lacking; but the tubes are there, close by, empty and quite fit to + receive the eggs. The Osmia refuses them, she prefers to plunder. Is it + from weariness, from a distaste for work after a period of fierce + activity? Not at all; for, when a row of cells has been stripped of its + contents, after the ravage and waste, she has to come back to ordinary + work, with all its burdens. The labour is not reduced; it is increased. It + would pay the Bee infinitely better, if she wants to continue her laying, + to make her home in an unoccupied tube. The Osmia thinks differently. Her + reasons for acting as she does escape me. Can there be ill-conditioned + characters among her, characters that delight in a neighbour's ruin? There + are among men. + </p> + <p> + In the privacy of her native haunts, the Osmia, I have no doubt, behaves + as in my crystal galleries. Towards the end of the building-operations, + she violates others' dwellings. By keeping to the first cell, which it is + not necessary to empty in order to reach the next, she can utilize the + provisions on the spot and shorten to that extent the longest part of her + work. As usurpations of this kind have had ample time to become + inveterate, to become inbred in the race, I ask for a descendant of the + Osmia who eats her grandmother's egg in order to establish her own egg. + </p> + <p> + This descendant I shall not be shown; but I may be told that she is in + process of formation. The outrages which I have described are preparing a + future parasite. The transformists dogmatize about the past and dogmatize + about the future, but as seldom as possible talk to us about the present. + Transformations have taken place, transformations will take place; the + pity of it is that they are not actually taking place. Of the three + tenses, one is lacking, the very one which directly interests us and which + alone is clear of the incubus of theory. This silence about the present + does not please me overmuch, scarcely more than the famous picture of "The + Crossing of the Red Sea" painted for a village chapel. The artist had put + upon the canvas a broad ribbon of brightest scarlet; and that was all. + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, that's the Red Sea,' said the priest, examining the masterpiece + before paying for it. 'That's the Red Sea, right enough; but where are the + Israelites?' + </p> + <p> + 'They have passed,' replied the painter. + </p> + <p> + 'And the Egyptians?' + </p> + <p> + 'They are on the way.' + </p> + <p> + Transformations have passed, transformations are on the way. For mercy's + sake, cannot they show us transformations in the act? Must the facts of + the past and the facts of the future necessarily exclude the facts of the + present? I fail to understand. + </p> + <p> + I call for a descendant of the Chalicodoma and a descendant of the Osmia + who have robbed their neighbours with gusto, when occasion offered, since + the origin of their respective races, and who are working industriously to + create a parasite happy in doing nothing. Have they succeeded? No. Will + they succeed? Yes, people maintain. For the moment, nothing. The Osmiae + and Chalicodomae of to-day are what they were when the first trowel of + cement or mud was mixed. Then how many ages does it take to form a + parasite? Too many, I fear, for us not to be discouraged. + </p> + <p> + If the sayings of the theorists are well-founded, going on strike and + living by shifts was not always enough to assure parasitism. In certain + cases, the animal must have had to change its diet, to pass from live prey + to vegetarian fare, which would entirely subvert its most essential + characteristics. What should we say to the Wolf giving up mutton and + browsing on grass, in obedience to the dictates of idleness? The boldest + would shrink from such an absurd assumption. And yet transformism leads us + straight to it. + </p> + <p> + Here is an example: in July, I split some bramble-stems in which Osmia + tridentata has built her nests. In the long series of cells, the lower + already hold the Osmia's cocoons, while the upper contain the larva which + has nearly finished consuming its provisions and the topmost show the + victuals untouched, with the Osmia's egg upon them. It is a cylindrical + egg, rounded at both extremities, of a transparent white and measuring + four to five millimetres in length. (.156 to.195 inch.—Translator's + Note.) It lies slantwise, one end of it resting on the food and the other + sticking up at some distance above the honey. Now, by multiplying my + visits to the fresh cells, I have on several occasions made a very + valuable discovery. On the free end of the Osmia's egg, another egg is + fixed; an egg quite different in shape, white and transparent like the + first, but much smaller and narrower, blunt at one end and tapering into a + rather sharp point at the other. It is two millimetres long by half a + millimetre wide. (.078 and.019 inch.—Translator's Note.) It is + undeniably the egg of a parasite, a parasite which compels my attention by + its curious method of installing its family. + </p> + <p> + It opens before the Osmia's egg. The tiny grub, as soon as it is born, + begins to drain the rival egg, of which it occupied the top part, high up + above the honey. The extermination soon becomes perceptible. You can see + the Osmia's egg turning muddy, losing its brilliancy, becoming limp and + wrinkled. In twenty-four hours, it is nothing but an empty sheath, a + crumpled bit of skin. All competition is now removed; the parasite is the + master of the house. The young grub, when demolishing the egg, was active + enough: it explored the dangerous thing which had to be got rid of + quickly, it raised its head to select and multiply the attacking-points. + Now, lying at full length on the surface of the honey, it no longer shifts + its position; but the undulations of the digestive canal betray its greedy + absorption of the Osmia's store of food. The provisions are finished in a + fortnight and the cocoon is woven. It is a fairly firm ovoid, of a very + dark-brown colour, two characteristics which at once distinguish it from + the Osmia's pale, cylindrical cocoon. The hatching takes place in April or + May. The puzzle is solved at last: the Osmia's parasite is a Wasp called + the Spotted Sapyga (Sapyga punctata, V.L.) + </p> + <p> + Now where are we to class this Wasp, a true parasite in the strict sense + of the word, that is to say, a consumer of others' provisions. Her general + appearance and her structure make it clear to any eye more or less + familiar with entomological shapes that she belongs to a species akin to + that of the Scoliae. Moreover, the masters of classification, so + scrupulous in their comparison of characteristics, agree in placing the + Sapygae immediately after the Scoliae and a little before the Mutillae. + The Scoliae feed their grubs on prey; so do the Mutillae. The Osmia's + parasite, therefore, if it really derives from a transformed ancestor, is + descended from a flesh-eater, though it is now an eater of honey. The Wolf + does more than become a Sheep: he turns himself into a sweet-tooth. + </p> + <p> + 'You will never get an apple-tree out of an acorn,' Franklin tells us, + with that homely common-sense of his. + </p> + <p> + In this case, the passion for jam must have sprung from a love of venison. + Any theory might well be deficient in balance when it leads to such + vagaries as this. + </p> + <p> + I should have to write a volume if I would go on setting forth my doubts. + I have said enough for the moment. Man, the insatiable enquirer, hands + down from age to age his questions about the whys and wherefores of + origins. Answer follows answer, is proclaimed true to-day and recognized + as false tomorrow; and the goddess Isis continues veiled. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 10. THE TRIBULATIONS OF THE MASON-BEE. + </h2> + <p> + To illustrate the methods of those who batten on others' goods, the + plunderers who know no rest till they have wrought the destruction of the + worker, it would be difficult to find a better instance than the + tribulations suffered by the Chalicodoma of the Walls. The Mason who + builds on the pebbles may fairly boast of being an industrious workwoman. + Throughout the month of May, we see her black squads, in the full heat of + the sun, digging with busy teeth in the mortar-quarry of the road hard by. + So great is her zeal that she hardly moves out of the way of the + passer-by; more than one allows herself to be crushed underfoot, absorbed + as she is in collecting her cement. + </p> + <p> + The hardest and driest spots, which still retain the compactness imparted + by the steam-roller, are the favourite veins; and the work of making the + pellet is slow and painful. It is scraped up atom by atom; and, by means + of saliva, turned into mortar then and there. When it is all well kneaded + and there is enough to make a load, the Mason sets off with an impetuous + flight, in a straight line, and makes for her pebble, a few hundred paces + away. The trowel of fresh mortar is soon spent, either in adding another + storey to the turret-shaped edifice, or in cementing into the wall lumps + of gravel that give it greater solidity. The journeys in search of cement + are renewed until the structure attains the regulation height. Without a + moment's rest, the Bee returns a hundred times to the stone-yard, always + to the one spot recognized as excellent. + </p> + <p> + The victuals are now collected: honey and flower-dust. If there is a pink + carpet of sainfoin anywhere in the neighbourhood, 'tis there that the + Mason goes plundering by preference, though it cost her a four hundred + yards' journey every time. Her crop swells with honeyed exudations, her + belly is floured with pollen. Back to the cell, which slowly fills; and + back straightway to the harvest-field. And all day long, with not a sign + of weariness, the same activity is maintained as long as the sun is high + enough. When it is late, if the house is not yet closed, the Bee retires + to her cell to spend the night there, head downwards, tip of her abdomen + outside, a habit foreign to the Chalicodoma of the Sheds. Then and then + alone the Mason rests; but it is a rest that is in a sense equivalent to + work, for, thus placed, she blocks the entrance to the honey-store and + defends her treasure against twilight or night marauders. + </p> + <p> + Being anxious to form some estimate of the total distance covered by the + Bee in the construction and provisioning of a single cell, I counted the + number of steps from a nest to the road where the mortar was mixed and + from the same nest to the sainfoin-field where the harvest was gathered. I + took such note as my patience permitted of the journeys made in both + directions; and, completing these data with a comparison between the work + done and that which remained to do, I arrived at nine and a half miles as + the result of the total travelling. Of course, I give this figure only as + a rough calculation; greater precision would have demanded more + perseverance than I can boast. + </p> + <p> + Such as it is, the result, which is probably under the actual figure in + many cases, is of a kind that gives us a vivid idea of the Mason-bee's + activity. The complete nest will comprise about fifteen cells. Moreover, + the heap of cells will be coated at the end with a layer of cement a good + finger's-breadth thick. This massive fortification, which is less finished + than the rest of the work but more expensive in materials, represents + perhaps in itself one half of the complete task, so that, to establish her + dome, Chalicodoma muraria, coming and going across the arid table-land, + traverses altogether a distance of 275 miles, which is nearly half of the + greatest dimension of France from north to south. Afterwards, when, worn + out with all this fatigue, the Bee retires to a hiding-place to languish + in solitude and die, she is surely entitled to say: + </p> + <p> + 'I have laboured, I have done my duty!' + </p> + <p> + Yes, certainly, the Mason has toiled with a vengeance. To ensure the + future of her offspring, she has spent her own life without reserve, her + long life of five or six weeks' duration; and now she breathes her last, + contented because everything is in order in the beloved house: copious + rations of the first quality; a shelter against the winter frosts; + ramparts against incursions of the enemy. Everything is in order, at least + so she thinks; but, alas, what a mistake the poor mother is making! Here + the hateful fatality stands revealed, aspera fata, which ruins the + producer to provide a living for the drone; here we see the stupid and + ferocious law that sacrifices the worker for the idler's benefit. What + have we done, we and the insects, to be ground with sovran indifference + under the mill-stone of such wretchedness? Oh, what terrible, what + heart-rending questions the Mason-bee's misfortunes would bring to my + lips, if I gave free scope to my sombre thoughts! But let us avoid these + useless whys and keep within the province of the mere recorder. + </p> + <p> + There are some ten of them plotting the ruin of the peaceable and + industrious Bee; and I do not know them all. Each has her own tricks, her + own art of injury, her own exterminating tactics, so that no part of the + Mason's work may escape destruction. Some seize upon the victuals, others + feed on the larvae, others again convert the dwelling to their own use. + Everything has to submit: cell, provisions, scarce-weaned nurselings. + </p> + <p> + The stealers of food are the Stelis-wasp (Stelis nasuta) and the + Dioxys-bee (Dioxys cincta). I have already said how, in the Mason's + absence, the Stelis perforates the dome of cell after cell, lays her eggs + there and afterwards repairs the breach with a mortar made of red earth, + which at once betrays the parasite's presence to a watchful eye. The + Stelis, who is much smaller than the Chalicodoma, finds enough food in a + single cell for the rearing of several of her grubs. The mother lays a + number of eggs, which I have seen vary between the extremes of two and + twelve, on the surface, next to the Mason's egg, which itself undergoes no + outrage whatever. + </p> + <p> + Things do not go so badly at first. The feasters swim—it is the only + word—in the midst of plenty; they eat and digest like brothers. + Presently, times become hard for the hostess' son; the food decreases, + dearth sets in; and at length not an atom remains, although the Mason's + larva has attained at most a quarter of its growth. The others, more + expeditious feeders, have exhausted the victuals long before the victim + has finished his normal repast. The swindled grub shrivels up and dies, + while the gorged larvae of the Stelis begin to spin their strong little + brown cocoons, pressed close together and lumped into one mass, so as to + make the best use of the scanty space in the crowded dwelling. Should you + inspect the cell later, you will find, between the heaped cocoons on the + wall, a little dried-up corpse. It is the larva that was such an object of + care to the mother Mason. The efforts of the most laborious of lives have + ended in this lamentable relic. It has happened to me just as often, when + examining the secrets of the cell which is at once cradle and tomb, not to + come upon the deceased grub at all. I picture the Stelis, before laying + her own eggs, destroying the Chalicodoma's egg and eating it, as the + Osmiae do among themselves; or I picture the dying thing, an irksome mass + for the numerous spinners at work in a narrow habitation, being cut to + pieces to make room for the medley of cocoons. But to so many deeds of + darkness I would not like to add another by an oversight; and I prefer to + admit that I failed to perceive the grub that died of hunger. + </p> + <p> + Let us now show up the Dioxys. At the time when the work of construction + is in progress, she is an impudent visitor of the nests, exploiting with + the same effrontery the enormous cities of the Mason-bee of the Sheds and + the solitary cupolas of the Mason-bee of the Pebbles. An innumerable + population, coming and going, humming and buzzing, strikes her with no + awe. On the tiles hanging from the walls of my porch I see her, with her + red scarf round her body, stalking with sublime assurance over the ridged + expanse of nests. Her black schemes leave the swarm profoundly + indifferent; not one of the workers dreams of chasing her off, unless she + should come bothering too closely. Even then, all that happens is a few + signs of impatience on the part of the hustled Bee. There is no serious + excitement, no eager pursuits such as the presence of a mortal enemy might + lead us to suspect. They are there in their thousands, each armed with her + dagger; any one of them is capable of slaying the traitress; and not one + attacks her. The danger is not suspected. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, she inspects the workyard, moves freely among the ranks of the + Masons and bides her time. If the owner be absent, I see her diving into a + cell, coming out again a moment later with her mouth smeared with pollen. + She has been to try the provisions. A dainty connoisseur, she goes from + one store to another, taking a mouthful of honey. Is it a tithe for her + personal maintenance, or a sample tested for the benefit of her coming + grub? I should not like to say. What I do know is that, after a certain + number of these tastings, I catch her stopping in a cell, with her abdomen + at the bottom and her head at the orifice. This is the moment of laying, + unless I am much mistaken. + </p> + <p> + When the parasite is gone, I inspect the home. I see nothing abnormal on + the surface of the mass. The sharper eye of the owner, when she gets back, + sees nothing either, for she continues the victualling without betraying + the least uneasiness. A strange egg, laid on the provisions, would not + escape her. I know how clean she keeps her warehouse; I know how + scrupulously she casts out anything introduced by my agency: an egg that + is not hers, a bit of straw, a grain of dust. So, according to my evidence + and that of the Chalicodoma, which is more conclusive, the Dioxys's egg, + if it is really laid then, is not placed on the surface. + </p> + <p> + I suspect, without having yet verified my suspicion—and I reproach + myself for the neglect—I suspect that the egg is buried in the heap + of pollen-dust. When I see the Dioxys come out of a cell with her mouth + all over yellow flour, perhaps she has been surveying the ground and + preparing a hiding-place for her egg. What I take for a mere tasting might + well be a more serious act. Thus concealed, the egg escapes the eagle eye + of the Bee, whereas, if left uncovered, it would inevitably perish, would + be flung on the rubbish heap at once by the owner of the nest. When the + Spotted Sapyga lays her egg on that of the Bramble-dwelling Osmia, she + does the deed under cover of darkness, in the gloom of a deep well to + which not the least ray of light can penetrate; and the mother, returning + with her pellet of green putty to build the closing partition, does not + see the usurping germ and is ignorant of the danger. But here everything + happens in broad daylight; and this demands more cunning in the method of + installation. + </p> + <p> + Besides, it is the one favourable moment for the Dioxys. If she waits for + the Mason-bee to lay, it is too late, for the parasite is not able to + break down doors, as the Stelis does. As soon as her egg is laid, the + Mason-bee of the Sheds comes out of her cell and at once turns round and + proceeds to close it up with the pellet of mortar which she holds ready in + her mandibles. The material is employed with such method that the actual + sealing is done in a moment: the other pellets, the object of repeated + journeys, will serve merely to increase the thickness of the lid. The + chamber is inaccessible to the Dioxys from the first touch of the trowel. + Hence it is absolutely necessary for her to see to her egg before the + Mason-bee of the Sheds has disposed of hers and no less necessary to + conceal it from the Mason's watchful eye. + </p> + <p> + The difficulties are not so great in the nests of the Mason-bee of the + Pebbles. After this Bee has laid her egg, she leaves it for a time to go + in search of the cement needed for closing the cell; or, if she already + holds a pellet in her mandibles, this is not enough to seal it properly, + as the orifice is larger. More pellets are needed to wall up the entrance + entirely. The Dioxys would have time to strike her blow during the + mother's absences; but everything seems to suggest that she behaves on the + pebbles as she does on the tiles. She steals a march by hiding the egg in + the mass of pollen and honey. + </p> + <p> + What becomes of the Mason's egg confined in the same cell with the egg of + the Dioxys? In vain have I opened nests at every season; I have never + found a vestige of the egg nor of the grub of either Chalicodoma. The + Dioxys, whether as a larva on the honey, or enclosed in its cocoon, or as + the perfect insect, was always alone. The rival had disappeared without a + trace. A suspicion thereupon suggests itself; and the facts are so + compelling that the suspicion is almost equal to a certainty. The + parasitic grub, which hatches earlier than the other, emerges from its + hiding-place, from the midst of the honey, comes to the surface and, with + its first bite, destroys the egg of the Mason-bee, as the Sapyga does the + egg of the Osmia. It is an odious, but a supremely efficacious method. Nor + must we cry out too loudly against such foul play on the part of a new + born infant: we shall meet with even more heinous tactics later. The + criminal records of life are full of these horrors which we dare not + search too deeply. An infinitesimal creature, a barely-visible grub, with + the swaddling-clothes of its egg still clinging to it, is led by instinct, + at its first inspiration, to exterminate whatever is in its way. + </p> + <p> + So the Mason's egg is exterminated. Was it really necessary in the Dioxys' + interest? Not in the least. The hoard of provisions is too large for its + requirements in a cell of the Chalicodoma of the Sheds; how much more so + in a cell of the Chalicodoma of the Pebbles! She eats not a half, hardly a + third of it. The rest remains as it was, untouched. We see here, in the + destruction of the Mason's egg, a flagrant waste which aggravates the + crime. Hunger excuses many things; for lack of food, the survivors on the + raft of the Medusa indulged in a little cannibalism; but here there is + enough food and to spare. When there is more than she needs, what earthly + motive impels the Dioxys to destroy a rival in the germ stage? Why cannot + she allow the larva, her mess-mate, to take advantage of the remains and + afterwards to shift for itself as best it can? But no: the Mason-bee's + offspring must needs be stupidly sacrificed on the top of provisions which + will only grow mouldy and useless! I should be reduced to the gloomy + lucubrations of a Schopenhauer if I once let myself begin on parasitism. + </p> + <p> + Such is a brief sketch of the two parasites of the Chalicodoma of the + Pebbles, true parasites, consumers of provisions hoarded on behalf of + others. Their crimes are not the bitterest tribulations of the Mason-bee. + If the first starves the Mason's grub to death, if the second makes it + perish in the egg, there are others who have a more pitiable ending in + store for the worker's family. When the Bee's grub, all plump and fat and + greasy, has finished its provisions and spun its cocoon wherein to sleep + the slumber akin to death, the necessary period of preparation for its + future life, these other enemies hasten to the nests whose fortifications + are powerless against their hideously ingenious methods. Soon on the + sleeper's body lies a nascent grub which feasts in all security on the + luscious fare. The traitors who attack the larvae in their lethargy are + three in number: an Anthrax, a Leucopsis and a microscopic dagger-wearer. + (Monodontomerus cupreus. For this and the Anthrax, cf. "The Life of the + Fly": chapters 2 and 3. The Leucopsis is a Hymenopteron, the essay upon + whom forms the concluding chapter of the present volume.—Translator's + Note.) Their story deserves to be told without reticence; and I shall tell + it later. For the moment, I merely mention the names of the three + exterminators. + </p> + <p> + The provisions are stolen, the egg is destroyed. The young grub dies of + hunger, the larva is devoured. Is that all? Not yet. The worker must be + exploited thoroughly, in her work as well as in her family. Here are some + now who covet her dwelling. When the Mason is constructing a new edifice + on a pebble, her almost constant presence is enough to keep the aspirants + to free lodgings at a distance; her strength and vigilance overawe whoso + would annex her masonry. If, in her absence, one greatly daring thinks of + visiting the building, the owner soon appears upon the scene and ousts her + with the most discouraging animosity. She has no need then to fear the + entrance of unwelcome tenants while the house is new. But the Bee of the + Pebbles also uses old dwellings for her laying, as long as they are not + too much dilapidated. In the early stages of the work, neighbours compete + for these with an eagerness which shows the value attached to them. Face + to face, at times with their mandibles interlocked, now both rising into + the air, now coming down again, then touching ground and rolling over each + other, next flying up again, for hours on end they will wage battle for + the property at issue. + </p> + <p> + A ready-made nest, a family heirloom which needs but a little restoring, + is a precious thing for the Mason, ever sparing of her time. We find so + many of the old homes repaired and restocked that I suspect the Bee of + laying new foundations only when there are no secondhand nests to be had. + To have the chambers of a dome occupied by a stranger therefore means a + serious privation. + </p> + <p> + Now several Bees, however industrious in gathering honey, building + party-walls and contriving receptacles for provisions, are less clever at + preparing the resorts in which the cells are to be stacked. The abandoned + chambers of the Chalicodoma, now larger than they were originally, through + the addition of the hall of exit, are first-rate acquisitions for them. + The great thing is to occupy these chambers first, for here possession is + nine parts of the law. Once established, the Mason is not disturbed in her + home, while she, in her turn, does not disturb the stranger who has + settled down before her in an old nest, the patrimony of her family. The + disinherited one leaves the Bohemian to enjoy the ruined manor in peace + and goes to another pebble to establish herself at fresh expense. + </p> + <p> + In the first rank of these free tenants, I will place an Osmia (Osmia + cyanoxantha, PEREZ) and a Megachile, or Leaf-cutting Bee (Megachile + apicalis, SPIN.) (Cf. "Bramble-dwellers and Others": chapter 8.—Translator's + Note.), both of whom work in May, at the same time as the Mason, while + both are small enough to lodge from five to eight cells in a single + chamber of the Chalicodoma, a chamber increased by the addition of an + outer hall. The Osmia subdivides this space into very irregular + compartments by means of slanting, upright or curved partitions, subject + to the dictates of space. There is no art, consequently, in the + accumulation of little cells; the architect's only task is to use the + breadth at her disposal in a frugal manner. The material employed for the + partitions is a green, vegetable putty, which the Osmia must obtain by + chewing the shredded leaves of a plant whose nature is still uncertain. + The same green paste serves for the thick plug that closes the abode. But + in this case the insect does not use it unadulterated. To give greater + power of resistance to the work, it mixes a number of bits of gravel with + the vegetable cement. These materials, which are easily picked up, are + lavishly employed, as though the mother feared lest she should not fortify + sufficiently the entrance to her dwelling. They form a sort of coarse + stucco, on the more or less smooth cupola of the Chalicodoma; and this + unevenness, as well as the green colouring of its mortar of masticated + leaves, at once betrays the Osmia's nest. In course of time, under the + prolonged action of the air, the vegetable putty turns brown and assumes a + dead-leaf tint, especially on the outside of the plug; and it would then + be difficult for any one who had not seen them when freshly made to + recognize their nature. + </p> + <p> + The old nests on the pebbles seem to suit other Osmiae. My notes mention + Osmia Morawitzi, PEREZ, and Osmia cyanea, KIRB., as having been recognized + in these dwellings, although they are not very assiduous visitors. Lastly, + to complete the enumeration of the Bees known to me as making their homes + in the Mason's cupolas, I must add Megachile apicalis, who piles in each + cell a half-dozen or more honey-pots constructed with disks cut from the + leaves of the wild rose, and an Anthidium whose species I cannot state, + having seen nothing of her but her white cotton sacks. + </p> + <p> + The Mason-bee of the Sheds, on the other hand, supplies free lodgings to + two species of Osmiae, Osmia tricornis, LATR., and Osmia Latreillii, + SPIN., both of whom are quite common. The Three-horned Osmia frequents by + preference the habitations of the Bees that build their nests in populous + colonies, such as the Chalicodoma of the Sheds and the Hairy-footed + Anthophora. Latreille's Osmia is nearly always found with the Three-horned + Osmia at the Chalicodoma's. + </p> + <p> + The real builder of the city and the exploiter of the labour of others + work together, at the same period, form a common swarm and live in perfect + harmony, each Bee of the two species attending to her business in peace. + They share and share alike, as though by tacit agreement. Is the Osmia + discreet enough not to put upon the good-natured Mason and to utilize only + abandoned passages and waste cells? Or does she take possession of the + home of which the real owners could themselves have made use? I lean in + favour of usurpation, for it is not rare to see the Chalicodoma of the + Sheds clearing out old cells and using them as does her sister of the + Pebbles. Be this as it may, all this little busy world lives without + strife, some building anew, others dividing up the old dwelling. + </p> + <p> + Those Osmiae, on the contrary, who are the self-invited guests of the + Mason-bee of the Pebbles are the sole occupants of the dome. The cause of + this isolation lies in the unsociable temper of the proprietress. The old + nest does not suit her from the moment that she sees it occupied by + another. Instead of going shares, she prefers to seek elsewhere a dwelling + where she can work in solitude. Her gracious surrender of a most excellent + lodging in favour of a stranger who would be incapable of offering the + least resistance if a dispute arose proves the great immunity enjoyed by + the Osmia in the home of the worker whom she exploits. The common and + peaceful swarming of the Mason-bee of the Sheds and the two cell-borrowing + Osmiae proves it in a still more positive fashion. There is never a fight + for the acquisition of another's goods or the defence of one's own + property; never a brawl between Osmiae and Chalicodomae. Robber and robbed + live on the most neighbourly terms. The Osmia considers herself at home; + and the other does nothing to undeceive her. If the parasites, so deadly + to the workers, move about in their very ranks with impunity, without + arousing the faintest excitement, an equally complete indifference must be + shown by the dispossessed owners to the presence of the usurpers in their + old homes. I should be greatly put to it if I were asked to reconcile this + calmness on the part of the expropriated one with the ruthless competition + that is said to sway the world. Fashioned so as to instal herself in the + Mason's property, the Osmia meets with a peaceful reception from her. My + feeble eyes can see no further. + </p> + <p> + I have named the provision-thieves, the grub-murderers and the + house-grabbers who levy tribute on the Mason-bee. Does that end the list? + Not at all. The old nests are cities of the dead. They contain Bees who, + on achieving the perfect state, were unable to open the exit-door through + the cement and who withered in their cells; they contain dead larvae, + turned into black, brittle cylinders; untouched provisions, both mouldy + and fresh, on which the egg has come to grief; tattered cocoons; shreds of + skins; relics of the transformation. + </p> + <p> + If we remove the nest of the Chalicodoma of the Sheds from its tile—a + nest sometimes quite eight inches thick—we find live inhabitants + only in a thin outer layer. All the remainder, the catacombs of past + generations, is but a horrible heap of dead, shrivelled, ruined, + decomposed things. Into this sub-stratum of the ancient city the + unreleased Bees, the untransformed larvae fall as dust; here the + honey-stores of old go sour, here the uneaten provisions are reduced to + mould. + </p> + <p> + Three undertakers, all members of the Beetle tribe, a Clerus, a Ptinus and + an Anthrenus, batten on these remains. The larvae of the Anthrenus and the + Ptinus gnaw the ashes of the corpses; the larva of the Clerus, with the + black head and the rest of its body a pretty pink, appeared to me to be + breaking into the old jam-pots filled with rancid honey. The perfect + insect itself, garbed in vermilion with blue ornaments, is fairly common + on the surface of the clay slabs during the working season, strolling + leisurely through the yard to taste here and there the drops of honey + oozing from some cracked pot. Notwithstanding his showy livery, so unlike + the workers' sombre frieze, the Chalicodomae leave him in peace, as though + they recognized in him the scavenger whose duty it is to keep the sewers + wholesome. + </p> + <p> + Ravaged by the passing years, the Mason's home at last falls into ruin and + becomes a hovel. Exposed as it is to the direct action of wind and + weather, the dome built upon a pebble chips and cracks. To repair it would + be too irksome, nor would that restore the original solidity of the shaky + foundation. Better protected by the covering of a roof, the city of the + sheds resists longer, without however escaping eventual decay. The storeys + which each generation adds to those in which it was born increase the + thickness and the weight of the edifice in alarming proportions. The + moisture of the tile filters into the oldest layers, wrecks the + foundations and threatens the nest with a speedy fall. It is time to + abandon for good the house with its cracks and rents. + </p> + <p> + Thereupon the crumbling apartments, on the pebble as well as on the tile, + become the home of a camp of gypsies who are not particular where they + find a shelter. The shapeless hovel, reduced to a fragment of a wall, + finds occupants, for the Mason's work must be exploited to the utmost + limits of possibility. In the blind alleys, all that remains of the former + cells, Spiders weave a white-satin screen, behind which they lie in wait + for the passing game. In nooks which they repair in summary fashion with + earthen embankments or clay partitions, Hunting Wasps—Pompili and + Tripoxyla—store up small members of the Spider tribe, including + sometimes the Weaving Spiders who live in the same ruins. + </p> + <p> + I have said nothing yet of the Chalicodoma of the Shrubs. My silence is + not due to negligence, but to the circumstance that I am almost destitute + of facts relating to her parasites. Of the many nests which I have opened + in order to study their inhabitants, only one so far has been invaded by + strangers. This nest, the size of a large walnut, was fixed on a + pomegranate-branch. It comprised eight cells, of which seven were occupied + by the Chalicodoma, and the eighth by a little Chalcis, the plague of a + whole host of the Bee-tribe. Apart from this instance, which was not a + very serious case, I have seen nothing. In those aerial nests, swinging at + the end of a twig, not a Dioxys, a Stelis, an Anthrax, a Leucopsis, those + dread ravagers of the other two Masons; never any Osmiae, Megachiles or + Anthidia, those lodgers in the old buildings. + </p> + <p> + The absence of the latter is easily explained. The Chalicodoma's masonry + does not last long on its frail support. The winter winds, when the + shelter of the foliage has disappeared, must easily break the twig, which + is little thicker than a straw and liable to give way by reason of its + heavy burden. Threatened with an early fall, if it is not already on the + ground, last year's dwelling is not restored to serve the needs of the + present generation. The same nest does not serve twice; and this does away + with the Osmiae and with their rivals in the art of utilizing old cells. + </p> + <p> + The elucidation of this point does not remove the obscurity of the next. I + can see nothing to account for the absence or at least the extreme + rareness of usurpers of provisions and consumers of grubs, both of whom + are very indifferent to the new or old conditions of the nest, so long as + the cells are well stocked. Can it be that the lofty position of the + edifice and the shaky support of the twig arouse distrust in the Dioxys + and other malefactors? For lack of a better explanation, I will leave it + at that. + </p> + <p> + If my idea is not an empty fancy, we must admit that the Chalicodoma of + the Shrubs was singularly well-inspired in building in mid-air. You have + seen of what misfortunes the other two are victims. If I take a census of + the population of a tile, many a time I find the Dioxys and the Mason-bee + in almost equal proportions. The parasite has wiped out half the colony. + To complete the disaster, it is not unusual for the grub-eaters, the + Leucopsis and her rival, the pygmy Chalcis, to have decimated the other + half. I say nothing of Anthrax sinuata, whom I sometimes see coming from + the nests of the Chalicodoma of the Sheds; her larva preys on the + Three-horned Osmia, the Mason-bee's visitor. + </p> + <p> + All solitary though she be on her boulder, which would seem the proper + thing to keep away exploiters, the scourge of dense populations, the + Chalicodoma of the Pebbles is no less sorely tried. My notes abound in + cases such as the following: of the nine cells in one dome, three are + occupied by the Anthrax, two by the Leucopsis, two by the Stelis, one by + the Chalcis and the ninth by the Mason. It is as though the four + miscreants had joined forces for the massacre: the whole of the Bee's + family has disappeared, all but one young mother saved from the disaster + by her position in the centre of the citadel. I have sometimes stuffed my + pockets with nests removed from their pebbles without finding a single one + that has not been violated by one or other of the malefactors and oftener + still by several of them at a time. It is almost an event for me to find a + nest intact. After these funereal records, I am haunted by a gloomy + thought: the weal of one means the woe of another. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER 11. THE LEUCOPSES. + </h2> + <p> + (This chapter should be read in conjunction with the essays entitled "The + Anthrax" and "Larval Dimorphism", forming chapters 2 and 4 of "The Life of + the Fly."—Translator's Note.) + </p> + <p> + Let us visit the nests of Chalicodoma muraria in July, detaching them from + their pebbles with a sideward blow, as I explained when telling the story + of the Anthrax. The Mason-bee's cocoons with two inhabitants, one + devouring, the other in process of being devoured, are numerous enough to + allow me to gather some dozens in the course of a morning, before the sun + becomes unbearably hot. We will give a smart tap to the flints so as to + loosen the clay domes, wrap these up in newspapers, fill our box and go + home as fast as we can, for the air will soon be as fiery as the devil's + kitchen. + </p> + <p> + Inspection, which is easier in the shade indoors, soon tells us that, + though the devoured is always the wretched Mason-bee, the devourer belongs + to two different species. In the one case, the cylindrical form, the + creamy-white colouring and the little nipple constituting the head reveal + to us the larva of the Anthrax, which does not concern us at present; in + the other, the general structure and appearance betray the grub of some + Hymenopteron. The Mason's second exterminator is, in fact, a Leucopsis + (Leucopsis gigas, FAB.), a magnificent insect, stripped black and yellow, + with an abdomen rounded at the end and hollowed out, as is also the back, + into a groove to contain a long rapier, as slender as a horsehair, which + the creature unsheathes and drives through the mortar right into the cell + where it proposes to establish its egg. Before occupying ourselves with + its capacities as an inoculator, let us learn how its larva lives in the + invaded cell. + </p> + <p> + It is a hairless, legless, sightless grub, easily confused, by + inexperienced eyes, with those of various honey-gathering Hymenoptera. Its + more apparent characteristics consist of a colouring like that of rancid + butter, a shiny and as it were oily skin and a segmentation accentuated by + a series of marked swellings, so that, when looked at from the side, the + back is very plainly indented. When at rest, the larva is like a bow + bending round at one point. It is made up of thirteen segments, including + the head. This head, which is very small compared with the rest of the + body, displays no mouth-part under the lens; at most you see a faint red + streak, which calls for the microscope. You then distinguish two delicate + mandibles, very short and fashioned into a sharp point. A small round + mouth, with a fine piercer on the right and left, is all that the powerful + instrument reveals. As for my best single magnifying-glasses, they show me + nothing at all. On the other hand, we can quite easily, without arming the + eye with a lens, perceive the mouth-apparatus—and particularly the + mandibles—of either a honey-eater, such as an Osmia, Chalicodoma or + Megachile, or a game-eater, such as a Scolia, Ammophila or Bembex. All + these possess stout pincers, capable of gripping, grinding and tearing. + Then what is the purpose of the Leucopsis' invisible implements? His + method of consuming will tell us. + </p> + <p> + Like his prototype, the Anthrax, the Leucopsis does not eat the + Chalicodoma-grub, that is to say, he does not break it up into mouthfuls; + he drains it without opening it and digging into its vitals. In him again + we see exemplified that marvellous art which consists in feeding on the + victim without killing it until the meal is over, so as always to have a + portion of fresh meat. With its mouth assiduously applied to the unhappy + creature's skin, the lethal grub fills itself and waxes fat, while the + fostering larva collapses and shrivels, retaining just enough life, + however, to resist decomposition. All that remains of the decanted corpse + is the skin, which, when softened in water and blown out, swells into a + balloon without the least escape of gas, thus proving the continuity of + the integument. All the same, the apparently unpunctured bladder has lost + its contents. It is a repetition of what the Anthrax has shown us, with + this difference, that the Leucopsis seems not so well skilled in the + delicate work of absorbing the victim. Instead of the clean white granule + which is the sole residue when the Fly has finished her joint, the insect + with the long probe has a plateful of leavings, not seldom soiled with the + brownish tinge of food that has gone bad. It would seem that, towards the + end, the act of consumption becomes more savage and does not disdain dead + meat. I also notice that the Leucopsis is not able to get up from dinner + or to sit down to it again as readily as the Anthrax. I have sometimes to + tease him with the point of a hair-pencil in order to make him let go; + and, once he has left the joint, he hesitates a little before putting his + mouth to it again. His adhesion is not the mere result of a kiss like that + of a cupping-glass; it can only be explained by hooks that need releasing. + </p> + <p> + I now see the use of the microscopic mandibles. Those two delicate spikes + are incapable of chewing anything, but they may very well serve to pierce + the epidermis with an aperture smaller than that made by the finest + needle; and it is through this puncture that the Leucopsis sucks the + juices of his prey. They are instruments made to perforate the bag of fat + which slowly, without suffering any internal injury, is emptied through an + opening repeated here and there. The Anthrax' cupping-glass is here + replaced by piercers of exceeding sharpness and so short that they cannot + hurt anything beyond the skin. Thus do we see in operation, with a + different sort of implements, that wise system which keeps the provisions + fresh for the consumer. + </p> + <p> + It is hardly necessary to say, to those who have read the story of the + Anthrax, that this kind of feeding would be impossible with a victim whose + tissues possessed their final hardness. The Mason-bee's grub is therefore + emptied by the Leucopsis' larva while it is in a semifluid state and deep + in the torpor of the nymphosis. The last fortnight in July and the first + fortnight in August are the best times to witness the repast, which I have + seen going on for twelve and fourteen days. Later, we find nothing in the + Mason-bee's cocoon except the Leucopsis' larva, gloriously fat, and, by + its side, a sort of thin, rancid rasher, the remains of the deceased + wet-nurse. Things then remain as they are until the hot part of the + following summer or at least until the end of June. + </p> + <p> + Then appears the nymph, which teaches us nothing striking; and at last the + perfect insect, whose hatching may be delayed until August. Its exit from + the Mason's fortress has no likeness to the strange method employed by the + Anthrax. Endowed with stout mandibles, the perfect insect splits the + ceiling of its abode by itself without much difficulty. At the time of its + deliverance, the Mason-bees, who work in May, have long disappeared. The + nests on the pebbles are all closed, the provisioning is finished, the + larvae are sleeping in their yellow cocoons. As the old nests are utilized + by the Mason so long as they are not too much dilapidated, the dome which + has just been vacated by the Leucopsis, now more than a year old, has its + other cells occupied by the Bee's children. There is here, without seeking + farther, a fat living for the Leucopsis' offspring which she well knows + how to turn to profit. It depends but on herself to make the house in + which she was born into the residence of her family. Besides, if she has a + fancy for distant exploration, clay domes abound in the harmas. The + inoculation of the eggs through the walls will begin shortly. Before + witnessing this curious performance, let us examine the needle that is to + effect it. + </p> + <p> + The insect's abdomen is hollowed, at the top, into a furrow that runs up + to the base of the thorax; the end, which is broader and rounded, has a + narrow slit, which seems to divide this region into two. The whole thing + suggests a pulley with a fine groove. When at rest, the inoculating-needle + or ovipositor remains packed in the slit and the furrow. The delicate + instrument thus almost completely encircles the abdomen. Underneath, on + the median line, we see a long, dark-brown scale, pointed, keel-shaped, + fixed by its base to the first abdominal segment, with its sides prolonged + into membranous wings which are fastened tightly to the insect's flanks. + Its function is to protect the underlying region, a soft-walled region in + which the probe has its source. It is a cuirass, a lid which protects the + delicate motor-machinery during periods of inactivity but swings from back + to front and lifts when the implement has to be unsheathed and used. + </p> + <p> + We will now remove this lid with the scissors, so as to have the whole + apparatus before our eyes, and then raise the ovipositor with the point of + a needle. The part that runs along the back comes loose without the + slightest difficulty, but the part embedded in the groove at the end of + the abdomen offers a resistance that warns us of a complication which we + did not notice at first. The tool, in fact, consists of three pieces, a + central piece, or inoculating-filament, and two side-pieces, which + together constitute a scabbard. The two latter are more substantial, are + hollowed out like the sides of a groove and, when uniting, form a complete + groove in which the filament is sheathed. This bivalvular scabbard adheres + loosely to the dorsal part; but, farther on, at the tip of the abdomen and + under the belly, it can no longer be detached, as its valves are welded to + the abdominal wall. Here, therefore, we find, between the two joined + protecting parts, a simple trench in which the filament lies covered up. + As for this filament, it is easily extracted from its sheath and released + down to its base, under the shield formed by the scale. + </p> + <p> + Seen under the magnifying-glass, it is a round, stiff, horny thread, + midway in thickness between a human hair and a horse-hair. Its tip is a + little rough, pointed and bevelled to some length down. The microscope + becomes necessary if we would see its real structure, which is much less + simple than it at first appears. We perceive that the bevelled end-part + consists of a series of truncated cones, fitting one into the other, with + their wide base slightly projecting. This arrangement produces a sort of + file, a sort of rasp with very much blunted teeth. When pressed on the + slide, the thread divides into four pieces of unequal length. The two + longer end in the toothed bevel. They come together in a very narrow + groove, which receives the two other, rather shorter pieces. These both + end in a point, which, however, is not toothed and does not project as far + as the final rasp. They also unite to form a groove, which fits into the + groove of the other two, the whole constituting a complete channel or + duct. Moreover, the two shorter pieces, considered together, can move, + lengthwise, in the groove that receives them; they can also move one over + the other, always lengthwise, so much so that, on the slide of the + microscope, their terminal points are seldom situated on the same level. + </p> + <p> + If with our scissors we cut a piece of the inoculating-thread from the + living insect and examine the section under the magnifying-glass, we shall + see the inner groove lengthen out and project beyond the outer groove and + then go in again in turn, while from the wound there oozes a tiny + albimunous drop, doubtless proceeding from the liquid that gives the egg + the singular appendage to which we shall come presently. By means of these + longitudinal movements of the inner trench inside the outer trench and of + the sliding, one over the other, of the two portions of the former, the + egg can be despatched to the end of the ovipositor notwithstanding the + absence of any muscular contraction, which is impossible in a horny + conduit. + </p> + <p> + We have only to press the upper surface of the abdomen to see it disjoint + itself from the first segment, as though the insect had been cut almost in + two at that point. A wide gap or hiatus appears between the first and + second rings; and, under a thin membrane, the base of the ovipositor + bulges out, bent back into a stout hook. Here the filament passes through + the insect from end to end and emerges underneath. Its issue is therefore + near the base of the abdomen, instead of at the tip, as usual. This + curious arrangement has the effect of shortening the lever-arm of the + ovipositor and bringing the starting-point of the filament nearer to the + fulcrum, namely, the legs of the insect, and of thus assisting the + difficult task of inoculation by making the most of the effort expended. + </p> + <p> + To sum up, the ovipositor when at rest goes round the abdomen. Starting at + the base, on the lower surface, it runs round the belly from front to back + and then returns from back to front on the upper surface, where it ends at + almost the same level as its starting-point. Its length is 14 millimetres. + (.546 inch—Translator's Note.) This fixes the limit of the depth + which the probe is able to reach in the Mason-bee's nests. + </p> + <p> + One last word on the Leucopsis' weapon. In the dying insect, beheaded, + stripped of legs and wings, with a pin stuck through its body, the sides + of the fissure containing the inoculating-thread quiver violently, as if + the belly were going to open, divide in two along the median line and then + reunite its two halves. The thread itself gives convulsive tremblings; it + comes out of its scabbard, goes back and slips out again. It is as though + the laying-implement could not persuade itself to die before accomplishing + its mission. The insect's supreme aim is the egg; and, so long as the + least spark of life remains, it makes dying efforts to lay. + </p> + <p> + Leucopsis gigas exploits the nests of the Mason-bee of the Pebbles and the + Mason-bee of the Sheds with equal zest. To observe the insertion of the + egg at my ease and to watch the operator at work over and over again, I + gave the preference to the last-named Mason, whose nests, removed from the + neighbouring roofs by my orders, have hung for some years in the arch of + my basement. These clay hives fastened to tiles supply me with fresh + records each summer. I am much indebted to them in the matter of the + Leucopsis' life-history. + </p> + <p> + By way of comparison with what took place under my roof, I used to observe + the same scenes on the pebbles of the surrounding wastelands. My + excursions, alas, did not all reward my zeal, which zeal was not without + merit in the merciless sunshine; but still, at rare intervals, I succeeded + in seeing some Leucopsis digging her probe into the mortar dome. Lying + flat on the ground, from the beginning to the end of the operation, which + sometimes lasted for hours, I closely watched the insect in its every + movement, while my Dog, weary of being out of doors in that scorching + heat, would discreetly retire from the fray and, with his tail between his + legs and his tongue hanging out, go home and stretch himself at full + length on the cool tiles of the hall. How wise he was to scorn this + pebble-gazing! I would come in half-roasted, as brown as a berry, to find + my friend Bull wedged into a corner, his back to the wall, sprawling on + all fours, while, with heaving sides, he panted forth the last sprays of + steam from his overheated interior. Yes, he was much better-advised to + return as fast as he could to the shade of the house. Why does man want to + know things? Why is he not indifferent to them, with the lofty philosophy + of the animals? What interest can anything have for us that does not fill + our stomachs? What is the use of learning? What is the use of truth, when + profit is all that matters? Why am I—the descendant, so they tell + me, of some tertiary Baboon—afflicted with the passion for knowledge + from which Bull, my friend and companion, is exempt? Why...oh, where have + I got to? I was going in, wasn't I, with a splitting headache? Quick, let + us get back to our subject! + </p> + <p> + It was in the first week of July that I saw the inoculation begin on my + Chalicodoma sicula nests. The parasite is at her task in the hottest part + of the day, close on three o'clock in the afternoon; and work goes on + almost to the end of the month, decreasing gradually in activity. I count + as many as twelve Leucopses at a time on the most thickly-populated pair + of tiles. The insect slowly and awkwardly explores the nests. It feels the + surface with its antennae, which are bent at a right angle after the first + joint. Then, motionless, with lowered head, it seems to meditate and to + debate within itself on the fitness of the spot. Is it here or somewhere + else that the coveted larva lies? There is nothing outside, absolutely + nothing, to tell us. It is a stony expanse, bumpy but yet very uniform in + appearance, for the cells have disappeared under a layer of plaster, a + work of public interest to which the whole swarm devotes its last days. If + I myself, with my long experience, had to decide upon the suitable point, + even if I were at liberty to make use of a lens for examining the mortar + grain by grain and to auscultate the surface in order to gather + information from the sound emitted, I should decline the job, persuaded in + advance that I should fail nine times out of ten and only succeed by + chance. + </p> + <p> + Where my discernment, aided by reason and my optical contrivances, fails, + the insect, guided by the wands of its antennae, never blunders. Its + choice is made. See it unsheathing its long instrument. The probe points + normally towards the surface and occupies nearly the central spot between + the two middle-legs. A wide dislocation appears on the back, between the + first and second segments of the abdomen; and the base of the instrument + swells like a bladder through this opening; while the point strives to + penetrate the hard clay. The amount of energy expended is shown by the way + in which the bladder quivers. At every moment we expect to see the frail + membrane burst with the violence of the effort. But it does not give way; + and the wire goes deeper and deeper. + </p> + <p> + Raising itself high on its legs, to give free play to its apparatus, the + insect remains motionless, the only sign of its arduous labours being a + slight vibration. I see some perforators who have finished operating in a + quarter of an hour. These are the quickest at the business. They have been + lucky enough to come across a wall which is less thick and less hard than + usual. I see others who spend as many as three hours on a single + operation, three long hours of patient watching for me, in my anxiety to + follow the whole performance to the end, three long hours of immobility + for the insect, which is even more anxious to make sure of board and + lodging for its egg. But then is it not a task of the utmost difficulty to + introduce a hair into the thickness of a stone? To us, with all the + dexterity of our fingers, it would be impossible; to the insect, which + simply pushes with its belly, it is just hard work. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the resistance of the substance traversed, the Leucopsis + perseveres, certain of succeeding; and she does succeed, although I am + still unable to understand her success. The material through which the + probe has to penetrate is not a porous substance; it is homogeneous and + compact, like our hardened cement. In vain do I direct my attention to the + exact point where the instrument is at work; I see no fissure, no opening + that can facilitate access. A miner's drill penetrates the rock only by + pulverizing it. This method is not admissible here; the extreme delicacy + of the implement is opposed to it. The frail stem requires, so it seems to + me, a ready-made way, a crevice through which it can slip; but this + crevice I have never been able to discover. What about a dissolving fluid + which would soften the mortar under the point of the ovipositor? No, for I + see not a trace of humidity around the point where the thread is at work. + I fall back upon a fissure, a lack of continuity somewhere, although my + examination fails to discover any on the Mason-bee's nest. I was better + served in another case. Leucopsis dorsigera, FAB., settles her eggs on the + larva of the Diadem Anthidium, who sometimes makes her nest in + reed-stumps. I have repeatedly seen her insert her auger through a slight + rupture in the side of the reed. As the wall was different, wood in the + latter case and mortar in the former, perhaps it will be best to look upon + the matter as a mystery. + </p> + <p> + My sedulous attendance, during the best part of July, in front of the + tiles hanging from the walls of the arch, allowed me to reckon the + inoculations. Each time that the insect, on finishing the operation, + removed its probe, I marked in pencil the exact point at which the + instrument was withdrawn; and I wrote down the date beside it. This + information was to be utilized when the Leucopsis finished her labours. + </p> + <p> + When the perforators are gone, I proceed with my examination of the nests, + covered with my hieroglyphics, the pencilled notes. One result, one which + I fully expected, compensates me straightway for all my weary waitings. + Under each spot marked in black, under each spot whence I saw the + ovipositor withdrawn, I always find a cell, with not a single exception. + And yet there are intervals of solid stone between the cells: the + partition-walls alone would account for some. Moreover, the compartments, + which are very irregularly disposed by a swarm of toilers who all work in + their own sweet way, have great irregular cavities between them, which end + by being filled up with the general plastering of the nest. The result of + this arrangement is that the massive portions cover almost the same space + as the hollow portions. There is nothing outside to show whether the + underlying regions are full or empty. It is quite impossible for me to + decide if, by digging straight down, I shall come to a hollow cell or to a + solid wall. + </p> + <p> + But the insect makes no mistake: the excavations under my pencil-marks + bear witness to that; it always directs its apparatus towards the hollow + of a cell. How is it apprised whether the part below is empty or full? Its + organs of information are undoubtedly the antennae, which feel the ground. + They are two fingers of unparalleled delicacy, which pry into the basement + by tapping on the part above it. Then what do those puzzling organs + perceive? A smell? Not at all; I always had my doubts of that and now I am + certain of the contrary, after what I shall describe in a moment. Do they + perceive a sound? Are we to treat them as a superior kind of microphone, + capable of collecting the infinitesimal echoes of what is full and the + reverberations of what is empty? It is an attractive idea, but + unfortunately the antennae play their part equally well on a host of + occasions when there are no vaults to reverberate. We know nothing and are + perhaps destined never to know anything of the real value of the antennal + sense, to which we have nothing analogous; but, though it is impossible + for us to say what it does perceive, we are at least able to recognize to + some extent what it does not perceive and, in particular, to deny it the + faculty of smell. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, I notice, with extreme surprise, that the great + majority of the cells visited by the Leucopsis' probe do not contain the + one thing which the insect is seeking, namely, the young larva of the + Mason-bee enclosed in its cocoon. Their contents consist of the refuse so + often met with in old Chalicodoma-nests: liquid honey left unemployed, + because the egg has perished; spoilt provisions, sometimes mildewed, or + sometimes a tarry mass; a dead larva, stiffened into a brown cylinder; the + shrivelled corpse of a perfect insect, which lacked the strength to effect + its deliverance; dust and rubbish which has come from the exit-window + afterwards closed up by the outer coating of plaster. The odoriferous + effluvia that can emanate from these relics certainly possess very diverse + characters. A sense of smell with any subtlety at all would not be + deceived by this stuff, sour, 'high,' musty or tarry as the case may be; + each compartment, according to its contents, has a special aroma, which we + might or might not be able to perceive; and this aroma most certainly + bears no resemblance to that which we may assume the much-desired fresh + larva to possess. If nevertheless the Leucopsis does not distinguish + between these various cells and drives the probe into all of them + indifferently, is this not an evident proof that smell is no guide + whatever to her in her search? Other considerations, when I was treating + of the Hairy Ammophila, enabled me to assert that the antennae have no + olfactory powers. To-day, the frequent mistakes of the Leucopsis, whose + antennae are nevertheless constantly exploring the surface, make this + conclusion absolutely certain. + </p> + <p> + The perforator of clay nests has, so it seems to me, delivered us from an + old physiological fallacy. She would deserve studying, if for no other + result than this; but her interest is far from being exhausted. Let us + look at her from another point of view, whose full importance will not be + apparent until the end; let us speak of something which I was very far + from suspecting when I was so assiduously watching the nests of my + Mason-bees. + </p> + <p> + The same cell can receive the Leucopsis' probe a number of times, at + intervals of several days. I have said how I used to mark in black the + exact place at which the laying-implement had entered and how I wrote the + date of the operation beside it. Well, at many of these already visited + spots, concerning which I possessed the most authentic documents, I saw + the insect return a second, a third and even a fourth time, either on the + same day or some while after, and drive its inoculating-thread in again, + at precisely the same place, as though nothing had happened. Was it the + same individual repeating her operation in a cell which she had visited + before but forgotten, or different individuals coming one after the other + to lay an egg in a compartment thought to be unoccupied? I cannot say, + having neglected to mark the operators, for fear of disturbing them. + </p> + <p> + As there is nothing, except the mark of my pencil, a mark devoid of + meaning to the insect, to indicate that the auger has already been at work + there, it may easily happen that the same operator, finding under her feet + a spot already exploited by herself but effaced from her memory, repeats + the thrust of her tool in a compartment which she believes herself to be + discovering for the first time. However retentive its memory for places + may be, we cannot admit that the insect remembers for weeks on end, as + well as point by point, the topography of a nest covering a surface of + some square yards. Its recollections, if it have any, serve it badly; the + outward appearance gives it no information; and its drill enters wherever + it may happen to discover a cell, at points that have already perhaps been + pierced several times over. + </p> + <p> + It may also happen—and this appears to me the most frequent case—that + one exploiter of a cell is succeeded by a second, a third, a fourth and + others still, all fired with the newcomer's zeal because their + predecessors have left no trace of their passage. In one way or another, + the same cell is exposed to manifold layings, though its contents, the + Chalicodoma-grub, be only the bare ration of a single Leucopsis-grub. + </p> + <p> + These reiterated borings are not at all rare: I noted a score of them on + my tiles; and, in the case of some cells, the operation was repeated + before my eyes as often as four times. Nothing tells us that this number + was not exceeded in my absence. The little that I observed prevents me + from fixing any limit. And now a momentous question arises: is the egg + really laid each time that the probe enters a cell? I can see not the + slightest excuse for supposing the contrary. The ovipositor, because of + its horny nature, can have but a very dull sense of touch. The insect is + apprised of the contents of the cell only by the end of that long + horse-hair, a not very trustworthy witness, I should imagine. The absence + of resistance tells it that it has reached an empty space; and this is + probably the only information that the insensible implement can supply. + The drill boring through the rock cannot tell the miner anything about the + contents of the cavern which it has entered; and the case must be the same + with the rigid filament of the Leucopses. + </p> + <p> + Now that the thread has reached its goal, what does the cell contain? + Mildewed honey, dust and rubbish, a shrivelled larva, or a larva in good + condition? Above all, does it already contain an egg? This last question + calls for a definite answer, but as a matter of fact it is impossible for + the insect to learn anything from a horse-hair on that most delicate + matter, the presence or absence of an egg, a mere atom of a thing, in that + vast apartment. Even admitting some sense of touch at the end of the + drill, one insuperable difficulty would always remain: that of finding the + exact spot where the tiny speck lies in those spacious and mysterious + regions. I go so far as to believe that the ovipositor tells the insect + nothing, or at any rate very little, of the inside of the cell, whether + propitious or not to the development of the germ. Perhaps each thrust of + the instrument, provided that it meets with no resistance from solid + matter, lays the egg, to whose lot there falls at one time good, wholesome + food, at another mere refuse. + </p> + <p> + These anomalies call for more conclusive proofs than the rough deductions + drawn from the nature of the horny ovipositor. We must ascertain in a + direct fashion whether the cell into which the auger has been driven + several times over actually contains several occupants in addition to the + larva of the Mason-bee. When the Leucopses had finished their borings, I + waited a few days longer so as to give the young grubs time to develop a + little, which would make my examination easier. I then moved the tiles to + the table in my study, in order to investigate their secrets with the most + scrupulous care. And here such a disappointment as I have rarely known + awaited me. The cells which I had seen, actually seen, with my own eyes, + pierced by the probe two or three or even four times, contained but one + Leucopsis-grub, one alone, eating away at its Chalicodoma. Others, which + had also been repeatedly probed, contained spoilt remnants, but never a + Leucopsis. O holy patience, give me the courage to begin again! Dispel the + darkness and deliver me from doubt! + </p> + <p> + I begin again. The Leucopsis-grub is familiar to me; I can recognize it, + without the possibility of a mistake, in the nests of both the Chalicodoma + of the Pebbles and the Chalicodoma of the Sheds. All through the winter, I + rush about, getting my nests from the roofs of old sheds and the pebbles + of the waste-lands; I stuff my pockets with them, fill my box, load + Favier's knapsack; I collect enough to litter all the tables in my study; + and, when it is too cold out of doors, when the biting mistral blows, I + tear open the fine silk of the cocoons to discover the inhabitant. Most of + them contain the Mason in the perfect state; others give me the larva of + the Anthrax; others—very numerous, these—give me the larva of + the Leucopsis. And this last is alone, always alone, invariably alone. The + whole thing is utterly incomprehensible when one knows, as I know, how + many times the probe entered those cells. + </p> + <p> + My perplexity only increases when, on the return of summer, I witness for + the second time the Leucopsis' repeated operations on the same cells and + for the second time find a single larva in the compartments which have + been bored several times over. Shall I then be forced to accept that the + auger is able to recognize the cells already containing an egg and that it + thenceforth refrains from laying there? Must I admit an extraordinary + sense of touch in that bit of horse-hair, or even better, a sort of + divination which declares where the egg lies without having to touch it? + But I am raving! There is certainly something that escapes me; and the + obscurity of the problem is simply due to my incomplete information. O + patience, supreme virtue of the observer, come to my aid once more! I must + begin all over again for the third time. + </p> + <p> + Until now, my investigations have been made some time after the laying, at + a period when the larva is at least fairly developed. Who knows? Something + perhaps happens, at the very commencement of infancy, that may mislead me + afterwards. I must apply to the egg itself if I would learn the secret + which the grub will not reveal. I therefore resume my observations in the + first fortnight of July, when the Leucopses are beginning to visit busily + both Mason-bee's nests. The pebbles in the waste-lands supply me with + plenty of buildings of the Chalicodoma of the Walls; the byres scattered + here and there in the fields give me, under their dilapidated roofs, in + fragments broken off with the chisel, the edifices of the Chalicodoma of + the Sheds. I am anxious not to complete the destruction of my home hives, + already so sorely tried by my experiments; they have taught me much and + can teach me more. Alien colonies, picked up more or less everywhere, + provide me with my booty. With my lens in one hand and my forceps in the + other, I go through my collection on the same day, with the prudence and + care which only the laboratory-table permits. The results at first fall + far short of my expectations. I see nothing that I have not seen before. I + make fresh expeditions, after a few days' interval; I bring back fresh + loads of lumps of mortar, until at last fortune smiles upon me. + </p> + <p> + Reason was not at fault. Each thrust means the laying of an egg when the + probe reaches the cell. Here is a cocoon of the Mason-bee of the Pebbles + with an egg side by side with the Chalicodoma-grub. But what a curious + egg! Never have my eyes beheld the like; and then is it really the egg of + the Leucopsis? Great was my apprehension. But I breathed again when I + found, a couple of weeks later, that the egg had become the larva with + which I was familiar. Those cocoons with a single egg are as numerous as I + can wish; they exceed my wishes: my little glass receptacles are too few + to hold them. + </p> + <p> + And here are others, more precious ones still, with manifold layings. I + find plenty with two eggs; I find some with three or four; the + best-colonised offer me as many as five. And, to crown my delight, the joy + of the seeker to whom success comes at the last moment, when he is on the + verge of despair, here again, duly furnished with an egg, is a sterile + cocoon, that is to say, one containing only a shrivelled and decaying + larva. All my suspicions are confirmed, down to the most inconsequent: the + egg housed with a mass of putrefaction. + </p> + <p> + The nests of the Mason-bee of the Walls are the more regular in structure + and are easier to examine, because their base is wide open once it is + separated from the supporting pebble; and it was these which supplied me + with by far the greater part of my information. Those of the Mason-bee of + the Sheds have to be chipped away with a hammer before one can inspect + their cells, which are heaped up anyhow; and they do not lend themselves + anything like so well to delicate investigations, as they suffer both from + the shock and the ill-treatment. + </p> + <p> + And now the thing is done: it remains certain that the Leucopsis' laying + is exposed to very exceptional dangers. She can entrust the egg to sterile + cells, without provisions fit to use; she can establish several in the + same cell, though this cell contains nourishment for one only. Whether + they proceed from a single individual returning several times, by + inadvertence, to the same place, or are the work of different individuals + unaware of the previous borings, those multiple layings are very frequent, + almost as much so as the normal layings. The largest which I have noticed + consisted of five eggs, but we have no authority for looking upon this + number as an outside limit. Who could say, when the perforators are + numerous, to what lengths this accumulation can go? I will set forth on + some future occasion how the ration of one egg remains in reality the + ration of one egg, despite the multiplicity of banqueters. + </p> + <p> + I will end by describing the egg, which is a white, opaque object, shaped + like a much-elongated oval. One of the ends is lengthened out into a neck + or pedicle, which is as long as the egg proper. This neck is somewhat + wrinkled, sinuous and as a rule considerably curved. The whole thing is + not at all unlike certain gourds with an elongated paunch and a snake-like + neck. The total length, pedicle and all, is about 3 millimetres. (About + one-eighth of an inch.—Translator's Note.) It is needless to say, + after recognizing the grub's manner of feeding, that this egg is not laid + inside the fostering larva. Yet, before I knew the habits of the + Leucopsis, I would readily have believed that every Hymenopteron armed + with a long probe inserts her eggs into the victim's sides, as the + Ichneumon-flies do to the Caterpillars. I mention this for the benefit of + any who may be under the same erroneous impression. + </p> + <p> + The Leucopsis' egg is not even laid upon the Mason-bee's larva; it is hung + by its bent pedicle to the fibrous wall of the cocoon. When I go to work + very delicately, so as not to disturb the arrangement in knocking the nest + off its support, and then extract and open the cocoon, I see the egg + swinging from the silken vault. But it takes very little to make it fall. + And so, most often, even though it be merely the effect of the shock + sustained when the nest is removed from its pebble, I find the egg + detached from its suspension-point and lying beside the larva, to which it + never adheres in any circumstances. The Leucopsis' probe does not + penetrate beyond the cocoon traversed; and the egg remains fastened to the + ceiling, in the crook of some silky thread, by means of its hooked + pedicle. + </p> + <p> + INDEX. + </p> + <p> + Amazon Ant (see Red Ant). + </p> + <p> + Ammophila. + </p> + <p> + Ammophila hirsuta (see Hairy Ammophila). + </p> + <p> + Ant (see also Black Ant, Red Ant). + </p> + <p> + Anthidium (see also Cotton-bee, Diadem Anthidium). + </p> + <p> + Anthophora (see also Hairy-footed Anthophora). + </p> + <p> + Anthrax (see also Anthrax sinuata). + </p> + <p> + Anthrax sinuata. + </p> + <p> + Anthrenus. + </p> + <p> + Ape. + </p> + <p> + Aphis. + </p> + <p> + Baboon. + </p> + <p> + Bastien. + </p> + <p> + Bee. + </p> + <p> + Bembex (see also Bembex rostrata). + </p> + <p> + Bembex rostrata. + </p> + <p> + Black Ant. + </p> + <p> + Blanchard, Emile. + </p> + <p> + Blue Osmia. + </p> + <p> + Bombylius. + </p> + <p> + Bumble-bee. + </p> + <p> + Butterfly. + </p> + <p> + Cabbage-caterpillar. + </p> + <p> + Cagliostro. + </p> + <p> + Carrier-pigeon. + </p> + <p> + Castelnau de la Porte, Francis Comte de. + </p> + <p> + Cat. + </p> + <p> + Caterpillar (see also Cabbage-caterpillar, Grey Worm, Processionary + Caterpillar, Spurge-caterpillar). + </p> + <p> + Cerceris (see also Great Cerceris). + </p> + <p> + Cerceris tuberculata (see Great Cerceris). + </p> + <p> + Cetonia. + </p> + <p> + Chalcis. + </p> + <p> + Chalicodoma (see Mason-bee). + </p> + <p> + Chalicodoma muraria (see Mason-bee of the Walls). + </p> + <p> + Chalicodoma pyrenaica, C. pyrrhopeza, C. rufitarsis, C. sicula (see + Mason-bee of the Sheds). + </p> + <p> + Chalicodoma rufescens (see Mason-bee of the Shrubs). + </p> + <p> + Chat. + </p> + <p> + Chrysis (see also Parnopes carnea, Stilbum calens). + </p> + <p> + Clerus. + </p> + <p> + Coelyoxis. + </p> + <p> + Common Lizard. + </p> + <p> + Common Wasp. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius Nepos. + </p> + <p> + Cotton-bee. + </p> + <p> + Cricket. + </p> + <p> + Crioceris. + </p> + <p> + Crocisa. + </p> + <p> + Darwin, Charles Robert. + </p> + <p> + Darwin, Erasmus. + </p> + <p> + Diadem Anthidium. + </p> + <p> + Dioxys. + </p> + <p> + Dioxys cincta (see Dioxys). + </p> + <p> + Dog. + </p> + <p> + Dufour, Jean Marie Leon. + </p> + <p> + Duhamel du Monceau, Henri Louis. + </p> + <p> + Duruy, Jean Victor. + </p> + <p> + Euclid. + </p> + <p> + Eumenes Amadei. + </p> + <p> + Eyed Lizard. + </p> + <p> + Fabre, Mlle. Aglae, the author's daughter. + </p> + <p> + Fabre, Mlle. Antonia, the author's daughter. + </p> + <p> + Fabre, Mlle. Claire, the author's daughter. + </p> + <p> + Fabre, Mlle. Lucie, the author's granddaughter. + </p> + <p> + Favier, the author's factotum. + </p> + <p> + Fly. + </p> + <p> + Franklin, Benjamin. + </p> + <p> + Gad-fly. + </p> + <p> + Gnat. + </p> + <p> + Golden Wasp (see Chrysis). + </p> + <p> + Gold-fish. + </p> + <p> + Grasshopper (see Green Grasshopper). + </p> + <p> + Great Cerceris. + </p> + <p> + Green Grasshopper. + </p> + <p> + Grey Lizard. + </p> + <p> + Grey Worm. + </p> + <p> + Hairy Ammophila. + </p> + <p> + Hairy-footed Anthophora. + </p> + <p> + Halictus. + </p> + <p> + Hive-bee. + </p> + <p> + Huber, Francois. + </p> + <p> + Ichneumon-fly. + </p> + <p> + Lacordaire, Jean Theodore. + </p> + <p> + Lamb. + </p> + <p> + Lark. + </p> + <p> + Latreille's Osmia. + </p> + <p> + Leaf-cutter (see Megachile). + </p> + <p> + Leucopsis. + </p> + <p> + Leucopsis dorsigera. + </p> + <p> + Leucopsis gigas (see Leucopsis). + </p> + <p> + Le Vaillant, Francois. + </p> + <p> + Lion. + </p> + <p> + Lizard (see Common Lizard, Eyed Lizard, Grey Lizard). + </p> + <p> + Locust. + </p> + <p> + Loriol, Dr. + </p> + <p> + Loriol, Mme. + </p> + <p> + Lucas, Pierre Hippolyte. + </p> + <p> + Macmillan and Co., Ltd. + </p> + <p> + "Mademoiselle Mori", author of. + </p> + <p> + Mantis (see Praying Mantis). + </p> + <p> + Martin. + </p> + <p> + Mason-bee (see also the varieties below). + </p> + <p> + Mason-bee of the Pebbles (see Mason-bee of the Walls). + </p> + <p> + Mason-bee of the Sheds. + </p> + <p> + Mason-bee of the Shrubs. + </p> + <p> + Mason-bee of the Walls. + </p> + <p> + Megachile. + </p> + <p> + Megachile apicalis (see Megachile). + </p> + <p> + Melecta. + </p> + <p> + Meloe (see Oil-beetle). + </p> + <p> + Mesmer. + </p> + <p> + Miall, Bernard. + </p> + <p> + Monodontomerus cupreus. + </p> + <p> + Morawitz' Osmia. + </p> + <p> + Moth. + </p> + <p> + Mutilla. + </p> + <p> + Napoleon III., the Emperor. + </p> + <p> + Newton, Sir Isaac. + </p> + <p> + Oil-beetle. + </p> + <p> + Oryctes. + </p> + <p> + Osmia (see also the varieties below). + </p> + <p> + Osmia cyanea (see Blue Osmia). + </p> + <p> + Osmia cyanoxantha. + </p> + <p> + Osmia Latreillii (see Latreille's Osmia). + </p> + <p> + Osmia Morawitzi (see Morawitz' Osmia). + </p> + <p> + Osmia tricornis (see Three-horned Osmia). + </p> + <p> + Osmia tridentata (see Three-pronged Osmia). + </p> + <p> + Ox. + </p> + <p> + Parnopes carnea. + </p> + <p> + Perez, Professor Jean. + </p> + <p> + Philanthus apivorus. + </p> + <p> + Polyergus rufescens (see Red Ant). + </p> + <p> + Pompilus. + </p> + <p> + Praying Mantis. + </p> + <p> + Processionary Caterpillar. + </p> + <p> + Psithyrus. + </p> + <p> + Ptinus. + </p> + <p> + Rabbit. + </p> + <p> + Reaumur, Rene Antoine Ferchault de. + </p> + <p> + Red Ant. + </p> + <p> + Republican (see Social Weaver-bird). + </p> + <p> + Resin-bee. + </p> + <p> + Rhinoceros-beetle (see Oryctes). + </p> + <p> + Ringed Calicurgus (see Pompilus). + </p> + <p> + Rodwell, Miss Frances. + </p> + <p> + Rose-chafer (see Cetonia). + </p> + <p> + Sacred Beetle. + </p> + <p> + Sapyga punctata (see Spotted Sapyga). + </p> + <p> + Saw-fly. + </p> + <p> + Scolia. + </p> + <p> + Sheep. + </p> + <p> + Sicilian Mason-bee (see Mason-bee of the Sheds). + </p> + <p> + Social Bee (see Hive-bee). + </p> + <p> + Social Wasp (see Common Wasp). + </p> + <p> + Social Weaver-bird. + </p> + <p> + Sphex (see also Yellow-winged Sphex.) + </p> + <p> + Spider. + </p> + <p> + Spotted Sapyga. + </p> + <p> + Spurge-caterpillar. + </p> + <p> + Stelis (see also Stelis nasuta). + </p> + <p> + Stelis nasuta. + </p> + <p> + Stilbum calens. + </p> + <p> + Swallow. + </p> + <p> + Swift. + </p> + <p> + Tachina. + </p> + <p> + Tachytes. + </p> + <p> + Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander. + </p> + <p> + Three-horned Osmia. + </p> + <p> + Three-pronged Osmia. + </p> + <p> + Tiger. + </p> + <p> + Toussenel, Alphonse. + </p> + <p> + Tripoxylon. + </p> + <p> + Turnip-caterpillar, Turnip-moth (see Grey Worm). + </p> + <p> + Wagtail (see White Wagtail). + </p> + <p> + Warted Cerceris (see Great Cerceris). + </p> + <p> + Wasp (see also Common Wasp). + </p> + <p> + Weevil. + </p> + <p> + White Wagtail. + </p> + <p> + Wild Boar. + </p> + <p> + Wolf. + </p> + <p> + Yellow-winged Sphex. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mason-bees, by J. 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