202 THE LIFE AND LOVE OF THE INSECT 



Plunderer and plundered stare at each other for a moment ; 

 and that is all. 



If she liked, the genial giantess could rip up with 

 her claw the little bandit that ruins her home ; she 

 could crunch her with her mandibles, pink her with her 

 stiletto. She does nothing of the sort, but leaves the 

 brigand in peace, to sit quite close, motionless, with her 

 red eyes fixed on the threshold of the house. Why this 

 fatuous clemency ? 



The Bee departs. Forthwith, the Gnat walks in, with 

 no more ceremony than if she were entering her own place. 

 She now chooses among the victualled cells at her easo, 

 for they are all open ; she leisurely settles her eggs. 

 No one will disturb her until the Bee's return. To dust 

 one's legs with pollen, to distend one's crop with syrup 

 is a work that takes long a-doing ; and the intruder, 

 therefore, has time to spare wherein to commit her felony. 

 Moreover, her chronometer is well-regulated and gives 

 the exact measure of the length of absence. When 

 the Halictus comes back from the fields, the Gnat has 

 decamped. In some favourable spot, not far from the 

 burrow, she awaits the opportunity for a fresh misdeed. 



What would happen if a parasite were surprised in 

 her work by the Bee ? Nothing serious. I have seen 

 them, greatly daring, follow the Halictus right into the 

 cave and remain there for some time while the mixture 

 of pollen and honey is being prepared. Unable to make 

 use of the paste so long as the harvester is kneading it, 

 they go back to the open air and wait on the threshold 

 for the Bee to come out. They return to the sunlight, 

 unflustered, with calm steps : a clear proof that they have 

 suffered no unpleasantness in the depths where the 

 Halictus works. 



