of animal physics, which is
deeper than the physics of the books.

CHAPTER II
THE SITARES

The high banks of sandy clay in the country round about Carpentras are
the favourite haunts of a host of Bees and Wasps, those lovers of a
thoroughly sunny aspect and of soils that are easy to excavate. Here,
in the month of May, two Anthophorae[1] are especially abundant,
gatherers of honey and, both of them, makers of subterranean cells.
One, _A. parietina_, builds at the entrance of her dwelling an
advanced fortification, an earthy cylinder, wrought in open work, like
that of the Odynerus,[2] and curved like it, but of the width and
length of a man's finger. When the community is a populous one, we
stand amazed at the rustic ornamentation formed by all these
stalactites of clay hanging from the facade. The other, _A. pilipes_,
who is very much more frequent, leaves the opening of her corridor
bare. The chinks between the stones in old walls and abandoned hovels,
the surfaces of excavations in soft sandstone or marl, are found
suitable for her labours; but the favourite spots, those to which the
greatest number of swarms resort, are vertical stretches, exposed to
the south, such as are afforded by the cuttings of deeply sunken
roads. Here, over areas many yards in width, the wall is drilled with
a multitude of holes, which impart to the earthy mass the look of some
enormous sponge. These round holes might be fashioned with an auger,
so regular are they. Each is the entrance to a winding corridor, which
runs to a depth of four to six inches. The cells are distributed at
the far end. If we would witness the labours of the industrious Bee,
we must repair to her workshop during the latter half of May. Then,
but at a respectful distance, if, as novices, we are afraid of being
stung, we may contemplate, in all its bewildering activity, the
tumultuous, buzzing swarm, busied with the building and the
provisioning of the cells.

[Footnote 1: Cf. _The Mason-bees_, by J. Henri Fabre, translated by
Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chap. viii.; and _Bramble-bees and
Others_, by J. Henri Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de
Mattos: _passim_.--_Translator's Note_.]

[Footnote 2: Cf. _The Mason-wasps_, by J. Henri Fabre, translated by
Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chaps. vi. and x.--_Translator's Note_.]

It is most often during the months of August and September, those
happy months of the summer holidays, that I have visited