EGGS OF THE SOLITARY BEE. 51 



in these singular perforations. It is obvious, if the 

 eggs were laid in the midst of the liquid honey, that 

 they would either be prevented from hatching, or the 

 grub would be suffocated in the first stage of its exist- 

 ence. Every chamber of the little nest is so full of 

 honey, that it is difficult to divine how this is to be 

 avoided, a«nd it was only after repeated and anxious re- 

 searches that we found a solution of the difficulty. It 

 is this: the mother-bee, when she has filled a chamber 

 with honey, glues a single egg, a hair's breadth or two 

 above its surtace, and at a similar minute distance she 

 stretches the membranous partition, leaving between 

 this and the surface of the honey just sufficient space, 

 and no more, for the newly hatched grub to crawl all 

 round. On opening one of these perforations after 

 the grub had been some time hatched, we found it 

 keeping aloof fi'om the honey, and resting on the 

 upper margin, from which it seemed to have stretch- 

 ed its head when feeding to the centre, instead of 

 eating at the circumference. The honey was also 

 then become thicker in consistence, and, in conse- 

 quence of what had been consumed, formed a hollow 

 cup.* 



Reaumur describes the nest of a bee of the 

 same family {Jlndrena cineraria , Fabr.), which is 

 found in the neighbourhood of London, and differs 

 from the preceding in making perforations, not in 

 trees, but in the ground, and lining these with the 

 membranaceous substance that composes the parti- 

 tions and the outer covering. He takes no notice, 

 however, of the prospective ingenuity with which 

 the egg is placed above the surface of the fluid 

 honey. I 



The various species of nests thus prepared by the 

 parent insects for depositing their eggs, are not 

 merely intended for holding provisions and shel- 



* J. R. t Rtaumur, Mem., vol. vi, p. 131. 



