The Return to the Nest 309 



I saw several of yesterday's Cerceres, recognizing 

 them by the one white spot on the thorax ; but 

 I saw none of those whom I had just let loose. 

 Had they not been able to find their home again ? 

 Were they hunting ? Or were they hiding in 

 their galleries to recover from the excitement of 

 such a trial ? I do not know. Next day I 

 paid a fresh visit ; and this time I had the satis- 

 faction of finding at work, as active as though 

 nothing out of the way had happened, five of 

 the Cerceres with two white spots on the thorax. 

 A journey of quite two miles, the town with its 

 houses, its roofs, its smoky chimneys, all things 

 so new to these utter rustics, had not prevented 

 them from going back to the nest. 



When taken from his brood and carried to 

 enormous distances, the Pigeon returns promptly 

 to the dovecote. If we wanted to work out a 

 proportion between the length of the journey 

 and the size of the creature, how greatly superior 

 to the Pigeon would be the Cerceris, who finds 

 her burrow after being carried a distance of two 

 miles ! The bulk of the insect is not a cubic 

 centimetre,^ whereas that of the Pigeon must 

 be quite a cubic decimetre,^ if not more. The 

 bird, being a thousand times larger than the 

 Wasp, ought therefore, in order to rival her, to 



^ '061 cubic inch. — Translator's Note. 

 ^ 61 cubic inches. — Translator's Note. 



