The Mason-bees 



might easily influence the Bee's choice: all 

 our less elevated uplands, all our arid thyme- 

 clad grounds are nothing but water-worn 

 stones cemented with red earth. In the val- 

 leys, the Chalicodoma has also the pebbles 

 of the mountain-streams at her disposal. 

 Near Orange, for instance, her favourite 

 spots are the alluvia of the Aygues, with their 

 carpets of smooth pebbles no longer visited 

 by the waters. Lastly, if a cobble be want- 

 ing, the Mason-bee will establish her nest on 

 any sort of stone, on a mile-stone or a 

 boundary-wall. 



The Sicilian Chalicodoma has an even 

 greater variety of choice. Her most cher- 

 ished site is the lower surface of the project- 

 ing tiles of a roof. There is not a cottage in 

 the fields, however small, but shelters her 

 nests under the eaves. Here, each spring, 

 she settles in populous colonies, whose ma- 

 sonry, handed down from one generation to 

 the next and enlarged year by year, ends by 

 covering considerable surfaces. I have seen 

 some of these nests, under the tiles of a shed, 

 spreading over an area of five or six square 

 yards. When the colony was hard at work, 

 the busy, buzzing crowd was enough to make 

 13 



