THE BEE. 129 



when the owner of the nest arrived, laden with poUen, 

 andj with the peculiar hum that is emitted by these 

 insects when making an attack, she fell upon the 

 wasp, and seized her with her sharp jaws. 



" The wasp instantly roUed hei-self up, as is the 

 habit of these creatures when attacked. The bee 

 endeaTOured in vain to find some vulnerable part that 

 she might penetrate with her sting, and, her efforts in 

 this direction proving fruitless, she at length bit off 

 the wings of the Gold Wasp at the roots, and then 

 dropped her to the earth. After this she returned 

 to her nest, evidently in great anxiety, in search of 

 an usurper's egg, and, finding none, she flew off to 

 seek a fresh store of food. 



" The Mason-Bee must doubtless have been satis- 

 fied" (Vogt is speaking, it must be remembered) 

 " that, by removing the wings of the wasp, she had 

 prevented her from repeating her visit to the nest ; 

 but here she was mistaken in her reckoning. The 

 prostrate wasp nnroUed itself as soon as the bee had 

 departed, crept in a direct line back to the nest, and 

 deposited her egg therein." 



Now let us for a moment inquire whether the bee 

 was acting under an instinctive impulse when she bit 

 off the wings of the wasp, or whether, in so doing, 

 she was guided by anytlung approaching to reason. 

 Vogt, -rtrho is a great advocate for the existence of 

 reason in the insect races, or rather, who is disposed 

 to endow them vfdth a great amount of intelligence, 

 quotes this anecdote (as we have seen by his brief 



g5 



