A MASON-WASP 53 



aware of this glad event, and come hurrying up to take advan- 

 tage of the precious layer of mud, a rare discovery in the 

 dry season. They scrape and skim the gleaming, shiny 

 surface with their mandibles while standing high on their 

 legs, with their wings quivering and their black bodies up- 

 raised. No neat little housewife, with skirts carefully tucked 

 up out of the dirt, could be more skilful in tackling a job 

 likely to soil her clothes. These mud-gatherers have not an 

 atom of dirt upon them, so careful are they to tuck up their 

 skirts in their own fashion, that is to say, to keep their whole 

 body out of the way, all but the tips of their legs and the 

 busy points of the mandibles with which they work. 



In this way a dab of mud is collected, almost the size of 

 a pea. Taking the load in its teeth the insect flies off, adds 

 a layer to its building, and soon returns to collect another 

 pellet. The same method is pursued as long as the earth 

 remains sufficiently wet, during the hottest hours of the 

 day. 



But the favourite spot is the great fountain in the village, 

 where the people come to water their mules. Here there is 

 a constant sheet of black mud which neither the hottest 

 sunshine nor the strongest wind can dry. This bed of mire 

 is very unpleasant for the passers-by, but the Pelopseus 

 loves to gather her pellets here, amid the hoofs of the 

 mules. 



Unlike some builders in clay, such as the Mason-bees, 

 the Wasp does not improve the mud to make it into mortar, 

 but uses it just as it is. Consequently her nests are flimsy 

 work, absolutely unfitted to stand the changes and chances 

 of the open air. A drop of water laid upon their surface 

 softens the spot touched and reduces it to mud again, while 

 a sprinkling equal to an average shower turns it to pap. They 

 are nothing but dried slime, and become slime again as soon 

 as they are wetted. 



It is plain, then, that even if the young Pelopaeus were 

 not so chilly by nature, a shelter is indispensable for the 



