NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN 



do, and how they do things, and thus grow wise in the 

 ways of nature. Dogs dishke them; the sharp buzzing 

 of the bee's wings seems to irritate them. 



Seated one summer day on a country cottage porch, 

 I became interested in the movements of a Xylocopa 

 that had begun to bore a nest in the wooden rail around 

 the porch. Bobwhite, the colhe who lay at my feet, 

 seemed to be equally interested. He watched every 

 motion of the bee with keen attention, and at last 

 made a vicious snap at her as she flew by. He acted as 

 though he had taken a hot coal into his mouth, snorting 

 and shaking his head violently. But the experience did 

 not abate the ardor of his zeal against carpenter bees. 

 All summer he lay in wait for them, for there were sev- 

 eral at work around the porch. One, at least, he suc- 

 ceeded in killing — poor thing! Nothing gave him quite 

 as much pleasure as hunting bees. No reasoning and 

 no remonstrance could dissuade him from his prejudice. 

 "Bees annoyed him! He would be annoyed! What 

 right had they to be buzzing and boring romid the 

 premises? To be sure, master and mistress didn't mind 

 them; but he did! No, they didn't hurt him, but they 

 annoyed him. He wouldn't stand it; and — snap!" So 

 Bobwhite seemed to argue. 



The male of Xylocopa deserves a brief notice, al- 

 though he has nothing to do in the family economy. 

 Like the Indian warrior — and, indeed, like all men in 

 their savage state — he leaves to his female all the work 

 of establishing the household, and of building the house 

 as well. Beedom is a matriarchate, not a patriarchate; 

 and so, indeed, is the whole insect world. Those quali- 

 ties in insects that may be counted the analogues of 

 virtues in men, as parental love and care, family and 



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