Itisapunylittleinsect，almostastinyasthemidgeswhomweseeeddyinginarayofsunshineattheendofautumn。Itsdressisgoldenbronze;itseyesarecoralred。Itcarriesanakedsword，thatistosay，thesheathofitsdrillstandsoutslantwiseatthetipofitsbelly，insteadoflyinginahollowgroovealongtheback，asitdoeswiththeLeucospis。Thisscabbardholdsthelatterhalfoftheinoculatingfilament，whichextendsbelowtheanimaltothebaseoftheabdomen。Inshort，itsutensilisthatoftheLeucospis，withthisdifference，thatitslowerhalfsticksoutlikearapier。
Thismitethatbearsasworduponherrumpisyetanotherpersecutorofthemasonbeesandnotoneoftheleastformidable。
SheexploitstheirnestsatthesametimeastheLeucospis。Iseeher，liketheLeucospis，slowlyexplorethegroundwithherantennae;Iseeher，liketheLeucospis，bravelydriveherdaggerintothestonewall。Moretakenupwithherwork，lessconsciousperhapsofdanger，shepaysnoheedtothemanwhoisobservinghersoclosely。WheretheLeucospisflies，shedoesnotbudge。Sogreatisherassurancethatshecomesrightintomystudy，tomyworktable，anddisputesmyownershipofthenestswhoseoccupantsIamexamining。Sheoperatesundermylens，sheoperatesjustbesidemyforceps。Whatriskdoessherun？Whatcanonedotoathingsoverysmall？SheissocertainofhersafetythatIcantaketheMason’snestinmyhand，moveit，putitdownandtakeitupagainwithouttheinsect’sraisinganyobjection:itcontinuesitsworkevenwhenmymagnifyingglassisplacedoverit。
OneoftheseheroineshascometoinspectanestoftheChalicodomaoftheWalls，mostofwhosecellsareoccupiedbythenumerouscocoonsofaparasite，theStelis。Thecontentsofthesecells，whichhavebeenpartiallyrippeduptosatisfymycuriosity，areverymuchexposedtoview。Thewindfallappearstobeappreciated，forIseethedwarfferretaboutfromcelltocellforfourdaysonend，seeherchoosehercocoonandinsertherawlinthemostapprovedfashion。Ithuslearnthatsight，althoughanindispensableguideinsearching，doesnotdecideupontheproperspotfortheoperation。Hereisaninsectexploringnotthestonyexteriorofthemason’sdwelling，butthesurfaceofcocoonswovenofsilk。Theexplorerhasneverfoundherselfplacedinsuchcircumstances，norhasanyofherracebeforeher，everycocoon，undernormalconditions，beingprotectedbyasurroundingwall。Nomatter:despitetheprofounddifferenceinthesurfaces，theinsectdoesnotwaver。Warnedbyaspecialsense，anundecipherableriddletoourselves，itknowsthattheobjectofitssearchlieshiddenunderthisunfamiliarcasing。
Thesenseofsmellhasalreadybeenshowntobeoutofthequestion;thatofsightisnoweliminatedinitsturn。