THE EUMENES 209 



with some affection and to feel gratified by this evidence 

 of her cleverness? Might there not be an insect science 

 of aesthetics? I seem at least to catch a glimpse, in 

 the Eumenes, of a propensity to beautify her work. 

 The nest must be, before all, a solid habitation, an 

 inviolable stronghold; but, should ornament intervene 

 without jeopardizing the power of resistance, will the 

 worker remain indifferent to it? Who could say? 



Let us set forth the facts. The orifice at the top, 

 if left as a mere hole, would suit the purpose quite as 

 well as an elaborate door: the insect would lose nothing 

 in regard to facilities for coming and going and would 

 gain by shortening the labor. Yet we find, on the 

 contrary, the mouth of an amphora, gracefully curved, 

 worthy of a potter's wheel. A choice cement and 

 careful work are necessary for the confection of its 

 slender, funneled shaft. Why this nice finish, if the 

 builder be wholly absorbed in the solidity of her work? 



Here is another detail: among the bits of gravel 

 employed for the outer covering of the cupola, grains 

 of quartz predominate. They are polished and trans- 

 lucent; they glitter slightly and please the eye. Why 

 are these little pebbles preferred to chips of lime-stone, 

 when both materials are found in equal abundance around 

 the nest? 



A yet more remarkable feature : we find pretty often, 

 encrusted on the dome, a few tiny, empty snail-shells, 

 bleached by the sun. The species usually selected by 

 the Eumenes is one of the smaller Helices — Helix 

 strigata — frequent on our parched slopes. I have seen 



