The Pelopaeus 



keep on the bank and settle in a work- 

 yard moistened by capillary action. The} v 

 scrape and skim the gleaming, slimy surface 

 with their mandibles while standing high 

 on their legs, with wings aquiver and their 

 black abdomen upraised on its yellow 

 pedicel. No neat little housewife, with 

 skirts carefully tucked out of the dirt, could 

 be more adept in tackling a job so pre- 

 judicial to the cleanliness of her clothes. 

 These mud-gatherers have not an atom of 

 soil upon them, so careful are they to tuck 

 up their skirts in their 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 their mandibles. In this manner 

 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 work is pursued as long as the 

 earth remains sufficiently wet, during the 

 hottest hours of the day, for there is always 

 some builder looking about for mortar. 



But the most frequented spot is in front of 

 the great fountain in the village. Here 

 there is a large trough where the people 

 round about come to water their Mules. 

 The constant trampling of the heavily-laden 

 77 



