The Leucospes 



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 neigh- 

 bouring 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 Leucos- 

 pis' life-history. 



By way of comparison with what took 

 place under my roof, I used to observe the 

 same scenes on the pebbles of the surrounding 

 waste-lands. 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 Leu- 

 cospis 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 



