128 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



my best to crush the little collar between my 

 thumb and forefinger, I found it impossible; and 

 the circular curb was less than an eighth of an 

 inch thick ! The bee's success as a cement-maker 

 must ever remain a recurring wonder to man. 



All the time our mason was working on her 

 cell she had to be on the lookout for the lazy 

 bees who were trying to snatch an opportunity 

 to get possession of a cell without doing the 

 necessary work of making it. The sense of 

 proprietorship was very strongly developed in 

 this bee, and, when any other bee came too 

 near her domicile, she hustled her off her 

 premises in a hurry. Often she jumped upon 

 the trespasser and with stinging arguments 

 engaged her in a rough-and-tumble fight, the 

 two bees rolling over and over in the dust while 

 it was going on. 



When complete, the mason's burrow was 

 about two inches deep. It went straight down- 

 ward at first for about an inch and then curved 

 slightly to one side. This last part, which was 

 to hold the honey and the egg, was a little 

 larger than the tube above it and much re- 

 sembled a small pocket. 



