matters she is cleverer than we are.

One objection was raised. Was it not possible that the Bee, when at work
on the shrub, should first cut a round piece of an approximate diameter,
larger than that of the neck of the jar, and that afterwards, on
returning home, she should gnaw away the superfluous part until the lid
exactly fitted the pot? These alterations made with the model in front
of her would explain everything.

That is perfectly true; but are there any alterations? To begin with, it
seems to me hardly possible that the insect can go back to the cutting
once the piece is detached from the leaf: it lacks the necessary support
to gnaw the flimsy disk with any precision. A tailor would spoil his
cloth if he had not the support of a table when cutting out the pieces
for a coat. The Megachile's scissors, so difficult to wield on anything
not firmly held, would do equally bad work.

Besides, I have better evidence than this for my refusal to believe in
the existence of alterations when the Bee has the cell in front of her.
The lid is composed of a pile of disks whose number sometimes reaches
half a score. Now the bottom part of all these disks is the under
surface of the leaf, which is paler and more strongly veined; the top
part is the upper surface, which is smooth and greener. In other words,
the insect places them in the position which they occupy when gathered.
Let me explain. In order to cut out a piece, the Bee stands on the
upper surface of the leaf. The piece detached is held in the feet and
is therefore laid with its top surface against the insect's chest at the
moment of departure. There is no possibility of its being turned over on
the journey. Consequently, the piece is laid as the Bee has just picked
it, with the lower surface towards the inside of the cell and the upper
surface towards the outside. If alterations were necessary to reduce the
lid to the diameter of the pot, the disk would be bound to get turned
over: the piece, manipulated, set upright, turned round, tried this way
and that, would, when finally laid in position, have its top or bottom
surface inside just as it happened to come. But this is exactly what
does not take place. Therefore, as the order of stacking never changes,
the disks are cut, from the first clip of the scissors, with their
proper dimensions. The insect excels us in practical geometry. I look
upon the Leaf-cutter's pot and lid as an addition to the many other
marvels o