i?6 SOLITARY BEES AND WASPS. 



ANTHOCOPA. 

 (A FLOWER-CHOPPER.) 



I have not succeeded in capturing this very 

 rare bee, but it is said to have been found both 

 in Scotland and England. It has a great liking 

 for colour, for it makes choice of the petals of 

 the wild scarlet poppy with which to line its nest 

 It bores into the hardest paths by the side of 

 corn-fields and then cuts little pieces out of the 

 corn-poppy flowers and curtains its nest with 

 them, and, like all the rest, it provides a store of 

 food, lays its eggs, and then closes up the hole. 



OSMIA. 

 (SWEET SCENT OR PERFUME.) 



This genus is so called because some species 

 are said to throw out a sweet odour when they 

 are touched. 



There are about ten species of these bees in 



