Bramble-bees and Others 



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 sentry, who sud- 

 denly darts out and makes a few gestures on 

 the threshold of her door. That is all. The 

 Leaf-cutter has understood. She moves on. 



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. Fol- 

 lows a not very serious contest. The stranger 

 quickly recognizes the rights of the first occu- 

 pant and, without insisting, goes to seek an 

 abode elsewhere. 



An accomplished marauder (Calioxys cau- 

 data, Spinola), a parasite of the Megachile, 

 receives a sound drubbing under my eyes. She 

 thought, the feather-brain, that she was enter- 

 ing the Leaf-cutter's establishment! She 

 soon finds out her mistake; she meets the port- 

 ress Halictus, who administers a sharp cor- 

 rection. She makes off at full speed. And 

 so with the others who, through inadvertence 

 or ambition, seek to enter the burrow. 



The same intolerance exists among the dif- 

 ferent grandmothers. About the middle of 



406 



