The Resin-bees 



of the flat stones and of the road-side banks 

 frequented by the Ants does what she can with 

 the heads of the defunct and, should these be 

 lacicing, is ready to replace them with some- 

 thing else. Moreover, the defensive inlaying 

 is slight; we see that the insect attaches no 

 great importance to it and has every confidence 

 in the stout wall of the home. 



The material of which the work Is made 

 at first suggests some rustic wax, much coarser 

 than that of the Bumble-bees, or rather some 

 tar of unknown origin. We think again and 

 then recognize in the puzzling substance the 

 semitransparent fracture, the quality of be- 

 coming soft when exposed to heat and of 

 burning with a smoky flame, the solubility in 

 spirits of wine, in short, all the distinguishing 

 characteristics of resin. Here then are two 

 more collectors of the exudations of the 

 Conifera^. At the points where I find their 

 nests are Aleppo pines, cypresses, brown- 

 berried junipers and common junipers. 

 Which of the four supplies the mastic? 

 There is nothing to tell us. Nor is there any- 

 thing to explain how the native amber-colour 

 of the resin is replaced, in the work of both 

 Bees, by a dark-brown hue resembling that 



3*5 



