96 NATURAL HISTORY. [CH. V 



The insect which Reaumur has denominated the 

 upholsterer-bee, is about the size of the hive bee ; its 

 iiest is composed of leaves, foniied into a tube, some- 

 times eighteen inches long, in shape resembling a 

 toothpick-case, with its ends rounded : this it lays 

 sometimes horizontally, sometimes vertically, in a 

 hole in the ground. The boring of the hole is a 

 work of pure labour; but the construction of the 

 nest deposited in it manifests the most consummate 

 skill. The bee first of all hovers about a leaf, exa- 

 mines it well, and then settling, begins to clip off 

 a portion shaped to suit its puipose ; the most dex- 

 terous milliner could not handle her scissors with 

 the quickness and precision w'ith which this bee exe- 

 cutes its task. 



The shape of the cut pieces is either semi-ovoid 

 or circular; occasionally it makes a mistake in the 

 size, but this only happens in a number of instances, 

 just sufficient to remove the impression, that the 



!fW 



a The bee cutting. 



b The diameter of a large jnece of leaf used fbr the sides of the cell 



c The dimensions of a piece of leaf used in corking up the cells. 



insect is a mere machine. As it clips with its sharp 

 teeth, it folds the morsel under its belly, bestriding 

 and squeezing it between its six legs, so that at the 

 last bite it would fall to the ground with its load, if 

 it were not prepaied for flight. 



The pieces of leaf first used in lining the earthen 

 apartment are the largest. These large bits it rolls 



