The Mason-bees 



It IS hardly necessary to say, to those who 

 have read the story of the Anthrax, that this 

 kind of feeding would be impossible with a 

 victim whose tissues possessed their final 

 hardness. The Mason-bee's grub is therefore 

 emptied by the Leucospis' larva while it is in 

 a semifluid state and deep in the torpor of the 

 nymphosis. The last fortnight in July and 

 the first fortnight in August are the best times 

 to witness the repast, which I have seen go- 

 ing on for twelve or fourteen days. Later, 

 we find nothing in the Mason-bee's cocoon 

 except the Leucospis' larva, gloriously fat, 

 and, by its side, a sort of thin, rancid rasher, 

 the remains of the deceased wet-nurse. 

 Things then remain as they are until the hot 

 part of the following summer or at least un- 

 til the end of June. 



Then appears the nymph, which teaches us 

 nothing striking; and at last the perfect in- 

 sect, whose hatching may be delayed until 

 August. Its exit from the Mason's fortress 

 has no likeness to the strange method em- 

 ployed by the Anthrax. Endowed witN "tout 

 mandibles, the perfect insect splits the ceiling 

 of its abode by itself without much difficulty. 

 At the time of Its deliverance, the Mason- 

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