66 



INSECT ARCHITECTURE. 



next bee, who passes it in the same manner to the 

 next, and so on till it is brought to the border of the 

 nest, — in the same way as we sometimes see sugar- 

 loaves conveyed from a cart to a warehouse, by a file 

 of porters throwing them from one to another. 



Fig. A represents two carder-bees heckling moss for their nests. 

 B, exterior view of the nest of the carder-bee. 



The elevation of the dome, which is all built from 

 the interior is, from four to six inches above the 

 level of the field. Beside the moss or grass, they 

 frequently employ coarse wax to form the ceiling of 

 the vault, for the purpose of keeping out rain, and 



