NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN 



Two hundred and more of these moundlets were 

 scattered along the marge of the field by the cross- 

 roads. From many of them protruded the furry heads 

 and shoulders of the gray bees (Colletes inequalis), about 

 the size of our common honey bee. The mounds were 

 quite uniformly about an inch high and one and one- 

 half inch at the base, thence slightly tapering to the 

 top. Here and there two burrows came so closely to- 

 gether that the mounds interblended. 



The bee-town occupied a strip of seventy-one feet 

 along the north side of Chester Road, thence along the 

 west side of Fairfield for fifty-six feet, and stretching 

 inward for from fifteen to twenty feet. Within a tri- 

 angle whose sides were eleven feet and base ten feet 

 long, ninety-six nests were counted. In another strip, 

 ten feet long by three wide, there were seventy-six. 

 These were the most thickly settled sections, and give 

 one an idea of how many of these insects, for the most 

 part unobserved by passers-by, escape the rigors of win- 

 ter and the perils of lurking subterranean foes, and 

 emerge from their catacombs into the sunlit upper 

 world. 



As the day advanced and gathered warmth, many 

 bees were found fluttering over the blossoms of neigh- 

 boring trees, foraging for pollen and nectar. At that 

 season (April 16-20th) the trees seemed to be the chief 

 sources of supply. A number of the burrows were pre- 

 served by plaster casting, and thus the work of Professor 

 Smith was verified. 



These facts concerning Colletes are even exceeded in 

 interest by the habits of the blue digger bee (Augochlora), 

 uncovered by Professor Smith and his efficient collabo- 

 rator, Mr. J. T. Brakeley, who had the advantage of a 



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