390 ANIMAL LIFE-HISTORIES 



previously alluded to as occurring in Earwigs, has been recorded 

 in Perga lewisii, an Australian Saw- Fly. . . . The mother, having 

 deposited about eight eggs on the leaf of a eucalyptus, remains 

 with them until they hatch, after which she sits over her brood 

 with outstretched legs, and with admirable perseverance protects 

 them, so far as she is able, from the attacks of parasites and other 

 enemies; she quite refuses to be driven away from her charges. 



'ill Id 



Fig. 913. Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa. violacea] and Nest 



Mr. Lewis, to whom we are indebted for this account, states that 

 the Saw- Fly does not recognize her own special brood, but will 

 give equal attention to another brood if she be transferred thereto ; 

 and he adds that many of the batches of larvae were destitute 

 of any maternal guardian." 



The large purplish insect known as the Carpenter Bee (Xylo- 

 copa violacea, fig. 913), a European species which does not range 

 into Britain, gnaws into dead wood, and excavates three or four 

 parallel passages, which may be as much as a foot in length. 



