TWO MOTHER MASONS 101 



So we should not accuse our Cement Maker of any 

 unreasonable cruelty, if she, like us, insists upon a nitrog- 

 enous diet for her young. Nor need we have any fear 

 of her sting, as she seldom uses it as a weapon of offence 

 or defence ; in any case the pain occasioned by her 

 sting is trivial. The Cement Maker is really one of the 

 most harmless and one of the most interesting of the 

 summer visitors to our window-panes. 



The other mother mason is Eumenes fraterna, the 

 Jug Builder. In appearance she is far more gay than 

 the Cement Maker, the dark bronze of her graceful body 

 being ornamented with yellow bars and spots. Her 

 aBsthetic sense is also better developed than is that of 

 her black cousin, and she is also a more clever artisan. 

 However, in the matter of strength and durability, the 

 Cement Maker's structures are superior. 



Some fine morning in early spring the Jug Builder 

 selects some twig of bush or tree that is conveniently 

 near the banks of a brook or pond and on this begins 

 to construct her nest. Her building material consists of 

 sand or gravel which she cements together with mud 

 mixed with saliva. This cement is similar to that of the 

 Mud Dauber ; but the latter constructs her nest entirely 

 of cement while the Jug Builder is a stone layer as 

 well as a plasterer. The Jug Builder's walls when ex- 

 amined with a lens look like the walls of a cobblestone 



