The Tribulations of the Mason-bee 



to put upon the good-natured Mason and to 

 utilize only abandoned passages, waste cells? 

 Or does she take possession of the home of 

 which the real owners could themselves have 

 made use? I lean in favour of usurpation, 

 for it is not rare to see the Chalicodoma of 

 the Sheds clearing out old cells and using 

 them as does her sister of the Pebbles. Be 

 this as it may, all this little busy world lives 

 without strife, some building anew, others di- 

 viding up the old dwelling. 



Those Osmiae, on the contrary, who are 

 the self-invited guests of the Mason-bee of 

 the Pebbles are the sole occupants of the 

 dome. The cause of this isolation lies in the 

 unsociable temper of the proprietress. The 

 old nest does not suit her from the moment 

 that she sees it occupied by another. Instead 

 of going shares, she prefers to seek elsewhere 

 a dwelling where she can work in solitude. 

 Her gracious surrender of a most excellent 

 lodging in favour of a stranger who would 

 be incapable of offering the least resistance 

 if a dispute arose proves the great immunity 

 which the Osmia enjoys in the home of the 

 worker whom she exploits. The common 

 and peaceful swarming of the Mason-bee of 

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