Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/55

 projecting object. One of these restless artificers once began to build on the handle of a chest in the cabin of my canoe, when we were stationary at a place for several days. It was so intent on its work that it allowed me to inspect the movements of its mouth with a lens whilst it was laying on the mortar. Every fresh pellet was brought in with a triumphant song, which changed to a cheerful busy hum when it alighted and began to work. The little ball of moist clay was laid on the edge of the cell, and then spread out around the circular rim by means of the lower lip guided by the mandibles. The insect placed itself astride over the rim to work, and, on finishing each addition to the structure, took a turn round, patting the sides with its feet inside and out before flying off to gather a fresh pellet. It worked only in sunny weather, and the previous layer was sometimes not quite dry when the new coating was added. The whole structure takes about a week to complete. I left the place before the gay little builder had quite finished her task: she did not accompany the canoe, although we moved along the bank of the river very slowly. On opening closed nests of this species, which are common in the neighbourhood of Mahicá, I always found them to be stocked