The Return to the Nest 313 



expanse of manure, that dung — for the front 

 of her door ? Why, yes ; here she comes ! She 

 inspects the unwonted condition of the place 

 from above and settles in the middle of the layer, 

 just opposite the entrance. She digs, makes a 

 hole through the stringy mass and reaches the 

 sand, where she at once finds the orifice of the 

 passage. I stop her and drive her away a second 

 time. 



Is not the precision with which the Wasp 

 ahghts just in front of her door, though this be 

 masked in a way so new to her, a proof that 

 sight and memory are not her only guide ? 

 What else can there be ? Could it be scent ? 

 It is very doubtful, for the emanations from the 

 droppings have not been able to baffle the insect's 

 perspicacity. Still, let us try a different smell. 

 I happen to have on me, as part of my entomo- 

 logical luggage, a small phial of ether. I sweep 

 away the sheet of manure and replace it by a 

 blanket of moss, not very thick, but spreading 

 to a considerable distance ; and I pour the con- 

 tents of my phial on it as soon as I see the Bem- 

 bex arrive. The ethereal fumes, at first too 

 strong, keep the Wasp away, but only for a 

 moment. Then she ahghts on the moss, which 

 still exhales a very perceptible smell of ether, 

 passes through the obstacle and makes her way 

 indoors. The ethereal effluvia put her out no 



