( xxxix ) 



and farinaceous food, he adds the snail. When he has left, 

 there remains under cover of the stones, mixed with the 

 remnants of his other victuals, an assortment of empty shells, 

 sometimes so numerous as to remind me of the piles of snail- 

 shells, which, having been prepared aux epinards and eaten 

 according to the ritual of the country on Christmas Eve, are 

 next day thrown out by the housewife outside the barn. 

 Here is, for Osniia tricorne, a rich collection of apartments, of 

 which it does not fail to take advantage. And even if the 

 conchological museum of the Field Mouse is wanting, these 

 same stones serve as a refuge for snails which live and die 

 there. So, if we see Osmias entering the crevices of old walls 

 and piles of stones, their occupation is evident ; they exploit, 

 for apartments, the dead snails in these labyrinths. 



" Less widely distributed, Osmia cornue [Osmia cornuta, 

 Latr.] may also be less industrious, that is, less rich in the 

 variety of its establishments. It appears to disdain empty 

 shells. The only dwellings I know of are the reeds of the 

 trays and the forsaken cells of Anthophora a masque [A. 

 fulvitarsis, Brulle, of which personata is a synonym]. 



" All the other Osmias whose nidification is known to me, 

 work with a green cement, a paste of chewed-up leaves ; also 

 all, except Osmia de Latreille [Osmia latreillei, Spin.], are 

 destitute of the corniculate or tuberculate armature possessed 

 by the kneaders of clay. I should much like to know what 

 plants are used in the preparation of the cement; probably 

 each species has its preferences and its little professional 

 secrets; but up to the present my observations have revealed 

 nothing of these details. By whatever worker prepared, the 

 cement has always the same appearance. When fresh it is 

 always of a distinct dark green. Later, especially where 

 exposed to the air, it turns to the colour of dead leaves, to 

 brown or earth-colour, no doubt owing to fermentation, and 

 its origin from leaves becomes unrecognisable. The uniformity 

 of the material for the chambers must not lead us to suppose 

 uniformity of dwelling; on the contrary, this varies greatly in 

 different species, with a strong predilection, however, for 

 empty shells. 



" Osmia de Latreille [Osmia latreillei, Spin.], in company 



