The Mason-bees 



booter. 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, de- 

 stroyed the egg in being, laid her own and 

 closed the cell again. Here was a touch of 

 nature that deserved careful examination. 



At eleven o'clock in the morning, when the 

 work is at its height, I mark half a score of 

 ChalicodomfE with different colours, to dis- 

 tinguish them from one another. Some are 

 occupied with building, others are disgorg- 

 ing 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 re- 

 leased. During their absence, their cells have 

 disappeared under a layer of recent struct- 

 ures; or, if still exposed to view, they are 

 closed and others have made use of them. 



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 result- 



230 



