MASON-BEES. 



35 



There was one circumstance attending the proceedings 

 of this mason-bee which struck as not a little, though we 

 could not explain it to our own satisfaction. Every time 

 she left her nest for the purpose of procuring a fresh supply 

 of materials, she paid a regular visit to the blossoms of a 

 lilac-tree which grew near. Had these blossoms afforded a 

 supply of pollen, with which she could have replenished 

 her cells, we could have easily understood her design ; but 

 the pollen of the lilac is not suitable for this purpose, and 

 that she had never used it was proved by all the pollen in 

 the cells being yellow, whereas that of the lilac is of the 

 same pale, purple colour as the flowers. Besides, she did 

 not return immediately from the lilac-tree to the building, 

 but always went for a load of clay. There seemed to us, 

 therefore, to be only two ways to explain the circumstance : 

 —she must either have applied to the lilac-blossoms to 

 obtain a refreshment of honey, or to procure glutinous 

 materials to mix with the clay. 



When employed upon the building itself, the bee ex- 

 hibited the restless disposition peculiar to most hymeno- 

 pterous* insects ; for she did not go on with one particular 

 portion of her wall, but ran about from place to place 

 every time she came to work. At first, when we saw 



Mason-Bee and Xesl, from Ed lumur. 



her running from the bottom to the top of her building, 

 we naturally imagined that she went up for some of the 

 bricklayer's mortar to mix with her own materials ; but 

 upon minutely examining the walls afterwards, no lime 



* The fifth order of Liniia3u,s ; insects with four transparent veined 

 winj^s. 



