CARPENTER-BEES. 39 



little fragments of brick, wliicli she detached in the pro- 

 gress of excavation. We have recently watched a pre- 

 cisely similar procedure in the instance of a carpenter- 

 bee forming a cell in a wooden post. (J. E.) The only 

 difference was, that the bee did not fly so far away with 

 her fragments of wood as the wasp did ; but she varied 

 the direction of her flight every time : and we could 

 observe, that after dropping the chip of wood which she 

 had carried off, she did not return in a direct line to her 

 nest, but made a circuit of some extei^t before wheeling 

 round to go back. 



On observing the proceedings of this carpenter-bee next 

 day, we found her coming in with balls of pollen on her 

 thighs ; and on tracing her from the nest into the adjacent 

 garden, we saw her visiting eveiy flower which was likely 

 to yield her a supply of pollen for her future progeny. This 

 was not all ; we subsequently 8aw her taking the direction 

 of the clay quarry frequented by the mason-bees, as we have 

 mentioned in page 29, where we recognised her loading 

 herself with a pellet of clay, and carrying it into her cell 

 in the wooden post. We observed her alternating this 

 labour for several days, at one time carrying clay, and at 

 another joollen ; till at length she completed her task, and 

 closed the entrance with a barricade of clay, to prevent the 

 intrusion of any insectivorous depredator, who might make 

 prey (^f her 3'oung ; or of some prying parasite, who might 

 introduce its own eggs into the nest she had taken so much 

 trouble to construct. 



Some days after it was finished, we cut into the post, 

 and exposed this nest to view. It consisted of six cells 

 of a somewhat square shape, the wood forming the lateral 

 walls ; and each was separated from the one adjacent by 

 a partition of clay, of the thickness of a playing card. 

 The wood was not lined with any extraneous substance, 

 but was worked as smooth as if it had been chiselled by a 

 joiner. There were five cells, arranged in a very singular 

 manner — two being almost horizontal, two perpendicular, 

 and one oblique. 



The depth to which the wood was excavated in this 



