CH. V.] THE MASON-BEE. 93 



sesses some sense which enables it to discover ad- 

 vantageous peculiarities of form which escape 

 human observation." It felt each grain with its 

 strong- teeth : it did not, however, carry them off 

 one by one ; this would have occasioned a waste of 

 time inconsistent with its usual habits of economy: 

 it contrived to collect tog-ether a sufficient number 

 of grains to form a heap of the size of a small shot, 

 and cemented the mass together with a viscid 

 liquor ejected upon it from the mouth. With the 

 gravel and cement it mixed a little earth, which 

 rendered the whole firmer and more tenacious. The 

 little pellet of well-tempered mortar thus formed 

 was instantly conveyed by the bee to the spot se- 

 lected for the nest, where the foundation was formed 

 by a circle of these little balls deposited in regular 

 succession. On this circular foundation it pro- 

 ceeded to raise a round tower of very small dimen- 

 sions. Every time that a fresh supply of mortar 

 had been brought to the spot, the insect was seen to 

 twist and twirl it about between its teeth and first 

 pair of legs ; it was then laid in the place destined 

 to receive it, and moulded into the proper shape. 

 As the tower or circular hollow increases in height, 

 the insect is seen thrusting its head into the interior 

 of the cell, for the purpose, no doubt, of ascertain- 

 ing whether the material has been properly applied ; 

 as the inside comes in contact with the tender and 

 unprotected skin of the cherished offspring, it is 

 indispensable that it should be rendered perfectly 

 even ; and on this account it is smoothed with all 

 the assiduity and skill of the provident and tender 

 parent. The outside, being destined for no such 

 purpose, is left in a rough state. Each cell is sepa- 

 rately formed, and the whole, Avhen completed, is 

 enveloped in a common covering made of sand. 



After a cell has reached a certain height, and be- 

 fore it has been quite finished, the mason-bee, like 

 the carpenter-bee, goes in quest of honey and pollen, 



