248 
Psyche 
[September 
Bee-city the next morning at nine o’clock, I was surprised 
to find almost all nests wide open and heavily laden mothers 
entering them. These bees made no effort to keep the holes 
closed either in their absence or presence as they had so 
constantly done before, probably because the soil had been 
washed away. Only a few nests were still covered ; perhaps 
these contained lazy or sleepy bees. This was my first 
visit to the colony so early in the morning. The afternoons 
had always found the nests covered, and likewise on this 
day, at five o’clock the holes were all covered as usual, 
with the exception of perhaps a half-dozen which had 
probably lost their proprietors through disaster. The 
problem remains whether they close them to exclude the 
mid-day heat, or open them for a morning airing, or for 
some other reason. One frequent reason for closing or 
guarding the entrance to wasp or bee burrows is the 
annoyance of parasites. The only enemies observed lurk- 
ing about here were a few Philanthus puctatus females, 
but they were not actually seen to enter the holes. These 
wasps seek bees for prey, but I am very doubtful that they 
would venture to attack healthy bees three times as large as 
themselves. 
Thus they flourished in bliss unalloyed for a few days 
until the next rainy spell came in the latter part of Septem- 
ber. Meanwhile their progress in provisioning their cells 
must have been great, for the surrounding region was 
full of sunflowers and autumnal composites, which brought 
their supplies of food near to hand. Great quantities of 
white snakeroot also grew near by, but I did not at any time 
see the bees carrying white pollen, although in two or three 
cases they were seen feeding upon the flowers. 
The autumn rains again flattened the mounds of the 
knoll-bees and covered the burrows with sticky clay as be- 
fore, and caused a permanent stoppage of activities. Days 
passed, and I waited for them to reappear, but they did not. 
Either they were so old that they could not again dig them- 
selves out, or this late date practically marked their three- 
score and ten. A very, very few stragglers were seen later, 
but in the few nests which were excavated each was the 
tomb of its maker. 
