x A NEST IN MY STUDY 249 



tail was in the cell was only twenty to thirty seconds. 

 The rest of the time was spent in working at. the 

 rim of the cells with her jaws, and often, just 

 previous to each laying, in making one or more 

 futile attempts to insert the tip of her abdomen in 

 the cell, her tail slipping down the wall of the cell on 

 the outside. An attempt having at last proved 

 successful she grasped the cell with her hind legs, 

 and in a few seconds the tip of the sting appeared 

 through the wall of the cell and remained exposed for 

 a moment or two. On one or two occasions a 

 worker noticed the sting and touched it with its jaws. 

 The queen began reducing the mouth of the cell 

 after laying the seventh and eighth eggs, as if she 

 was going to close it, but enlarged it again just 

 before laying another egg. After sealing, the 

 workers as usual became very troublesome. The 

 queen seized energetically the most persistent of 

 these, and inflicted on them a punishment which 

 seemed to consist of a snap or two with her jaws. 



All was well with the cell when I looked at it on 

 three occasions between 5.0 and 7.0 p.m., but at 7.25 

 I found it wide open, with frenzied workers eagerly 

 biting at the eggs. The light being poor, I went to 

 fetch a candle, and when I returned the cell was 

 sealed and the queen keeping guard. A few minutes 

 later I was surprised to see her open the cell and 

 lay three or four more eggs. 



Of course the. workers continued to show great 

 hostility to the cell of eggs. In order to ascertain 

 how far the disaffection extended amongst them, 



