Exchanging the Nests 



some distance. Her absence is of short dura- 

 tion. 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 in- 

 spections of the deserted spot go on for a long 

 time, a very long time, before the mason is 

 convinced that her nest is gone. She has cert- 

 ainly 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. 



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 

 57 



