272 THE MASON-BEE. 



forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants 

 alone. Well-beaten paths may be seen, branching 

 off in every direction, on which an army of never- 

 failing foragers are seen, some going forth, and 

 others returning, burthened with pieces of green 

 leaf, often larger than their own bodies. 



The beautiful manner in which an Almighty 

 Power has adapted certain insects to perform par- 

 ticular services, may be further illustrated by the 

 following fact : We know that the Caterpillars of 

 many of our English butterflies feed on cabbages 

 and lettuces. These vegetables are now cultivated 

 in the gardens round Rio de Janeiro, having been 

 of late years introduced there. Mr. Darwin in- 

 forms us that neither the caterpillars of the nume- 

 rous butterflies, which abound in that country to 

 an extraordinary degree, or even the slugs, will 

 touch them. Other food has been allotted to 

 them to feed upon ; in doing which they fulfil one 

 of the designs for which they were created. 



We should also bear in mind, that in order to 

 produce the necessary number of insects requisite 

 to carry on the purposes for which they were cre- 

 ated, each species has its own particular habita- 

 tion, in which the young can be lodged and pro- 

 tected. Many of these are formed with great skill, 

 and shew astonishing ingenuity. The Mason-Bee, 

 for instance, may be called an architect, for she 

 makes a building composed of sand and mortar. 



