214 THE LIFE AND LOVE OF THE INSECT 



flings herself upon the saucy jade, buffets her and drives 

 her away. The moment the punishment has been ad- 

 ministered, she returns on guard and resumes her 

 sentry-go. 



Next comes the turn of a Leaf-cutter (Megachile Albo- 

 cincta, P6rez), who, unskilled in the art of burrowing, 

 utilizes, after the manner of her kind, the old galleries 

 dug by others. Those of Halictus Zebras suit her very 

 well, when the terrible Gnat of spring has left them 

 vacant for lack of heirs. Seeking for a home wherein to 

 stack her robinia-leaf honey-pots, she often makes a flying 

 inspection of my colonies of Halicti. A burrow seems to 

 take her fancy ; but, before she sets foot on earth, her 

 buzzing is noticed by the watchwoman, who suddenly 

 darts out and makes a few gestures on the threshold of 

 her door. That is all. The Leaf -cutter has understood. 

 She removes herself. 



Sometimes, the Megachile has time to alight and insert 

 her head into the mouth of the pit. In a moment, the 

 portress is there, comes a little higher and bars the way. 

 Follows a not very serious contest. The stranger quickly 

 recognizes the rights of the first occupant and, without 

 insisting, goes to seek an abode elsewhere. 



A consummate marauder (Caelioxys Caudata, Spinola), a 

 parasite of the Megachile, receives a sound drubbing under 

 my eyes. She thought, the scatter-brain, that she was 

 entering the Leaf-cutter's establishment ! She soon finds 

 out her error ; she meets the portress Halictus, who ad- 

 ministers a severe correction. She makes off at full speed. 

 And so with the others who, by mistake or ambition, seek 

 to enter the burrow. 



The same intolerance exists among grandmothers. 

 About the middle of July, when the animation of the 



