80 



BEES AND WASPS 



[CH. 



complete inflection beneath the head so as to be 

 concealed by the mandibles, and the tip of the ab- 

 domen is very blunt. The males of some of the 

 species have curious flat expansions on the tarsal 

 joints of the front legs. For purposes of nesting 

 burrows are made in old posts, branches or stumps 



Fig. 15. Three cells of leaf-cutter bee (Megachile) in 

 a piece of rotten wood 



of trees, grassy or sandy banks ; some species adher- 

 ing closely to one kind of site, others adopting some- 

 times one, sometimes another. They all line their 

 burrows with neatly cut pieces of leaves, e.g. rose, 

 privet, or of the petals of flowers, e.g. geraniums, 

 bird's foot trefoil, etc. When the nest is made in 

 wood, the female insect bores the burrow herself, 



