he artist would be
sorry to cover his masterpiece with whitewash. I crave forgiveness for
a suggestion which I advance with all the reserve befitting so delicate
a subject. Would it not be possible for the cromlech-builder to take a
pride in her work, to look upon it with some affection and to feel
gratified by this evidence of her cleverness? Might there not be an
insect science of aesthetics? I seem at least to catch a glimpse, in
the Eumenes, of a propensity to beautify her work. The nest must be,
before all, a solid habitation, an inviolable stronghold; but, should
ornament intervene without jeopardizing the power of resistance, will
the worker remain indifferent to it? Who would say?

Let us set forth the facts. The orifice at the top, if left as a mere
hole, would suit the purpose quite as well as an elaborate door: the
insect would lose nothing in regard to facilities for coming and going
and would gain by shortening the labour. Yet we find, on the contrary,
the mouth of an amphora, gracefully curved, worthy of a potter's wheel.
A choice cement and careful work are necessary for the confection of
its slender, funnelled shaft. Why this nice finish, if the builder be
wholly absorbed in the solidity of her work?

Here is another detail: among the bits of gravel employed for the outer
covering of the cupola, grains of quartz predominate. They are polished
and translucent; they glitter slightly and please the eye. Why are
these little pebbles preferred to chips of lime-stone, when both
materials are found in equal abundance around the nest?

A yet more remarkable feature: we find pretty often, encrusted on the
dome, a few tiny, empty snail-shells, bleached by the sun. The species
usually selected by the Eumenes is one of the smaller Helices--Helix
strigata--frequent on our parched slopes. I have seen nests where this
Helix took the place of pebbles almost entirely. They were like boxes
made of shells, the work of a patient hand.

A comparison offers here. Certain Australian birds, notably the
Bower-birds, build themselves covered walks, or playhouses, with
interwoven twigs, and decorate the two entrances to the portico by
strewing the threshold with anything that they can find in the shape of
glittering, polished, or bright-coloured objects. Every door-sill is a
cabinet of curiosities where the collector gathers smooth pebbles,
variegated shells, empty snail-shells, parrot's feathers, bones that
have come to look