54 INSECT ARCHITECTURE. 



One species of our little upholsterers has. been 

 called the poppy-bee [Osmia papaverisj Latr.)^ 

 from its selecting the scarlet petals of the poppy as 

 tapestry for its cells. Kirby and Spence express 

 their doubts whether it is indigenous to this coun- 

 try: we are almost certain that we have seen the 

 nests in Scotland.* At Largs, in Ayrshire, a beau- 

 tiful sea-bathing village on the Frith of Clyde, in 

 July, 1814, we found in a foot-path a great nun- 

 ber of the cylindrical perforations of the poppy- 

 bee. Reaumur remarked that the cells of this bee 

 which he found at Bercy, were situated in a nor- 

 thern exposure, contrary to what he had remarked 

 in the mason-bee, which prefers the south. The 

 cells at Largs, however, were on an elevated bank, 

 facing the south, near Sir Thomas Brisbane's ob- 

 servatory. With respect to exposure, indeed, no 

 certain rule seems apphcable ; for the nests of mason- 

 bees which we found on the wall of Greenwich Park 

 faced the north-east, and we have often found car- 

 penter-bees make choice of a similar situation. In 

 one instance, we found carpenter-bees working in- 

 differently on the north-east and south-west side of 

 the same post. 



As we did not perceive any heaps of earth near 

 the holes at Largs, we concluded that it must either 

 have been carried off piecemeal when they were 

 dug, or that they were old holes re-occupied, — (a 

 circumstance common with bees), and that the rub- 

 bish had been trodden down by passengers. Reau- 

 mur, who so minutely describes the subsequent opera- 

 tions of the bee, says nothing respecting its excava- 

 tions. One of these holes is about three inches deep, 

 gradually widening as it descends, till it assumes the 

 form of a small Florence flask. The interior of this 

 is rendered smooth, uniform, and polished, in order 



* J. JR. 



