THE CARPENTER BEE. 89 



enough to admit the forefinger of a man. A single 

 bee will make two or three of these holes in the 

 course of the season. After the length has been deter- 

 mined, the tube is divided into about twelve compart- 

 ments, each of which is destined to receive an egg. 

 The bottom of the tube forms the base of the first 

 compartment. In this the bee piles up a quantity 

 of bee-bread till it reaches about an inch in height ; 

 upon the surface of this one egg is laid, and over the 

 whole mass a roof is formed, which serves as a cover 

 to the bottom division, and a floor for the next above 

 it. Each of the partition planks is about the thick- 

 ness of a crown-piece. It is to be observed, that, 

 in partitioning off the cells, the bee follows a system- 

 atic plan, and that a curious one. It begins by glu- 

 ing the particles of sawdust round the outside of the 

 cavity, so as to make an annular projection. Inside 

 this ring she glues more, and thus she gradually 

 works from the circumference towards the centre ; 

 at last, a covering of concentrical circles of sawdust 

 is formed (fig* 2). 



Having completed her first cell, and deposited an 

 egg in it, she now proceeds to form another heap of 

 bee-bread on the annular horizontal partition, and, 

 depositing a second egg, she covers it with a similar 

 roof of glue and sawdust ; a second cell being finished, 

 she continues her labours until the whole excavated 

 space has been filled up by a series of cells. The 

 insect not only knows the figure and capacity of each 

 of the cells necessary to accommodate her young, 

 but much more : she knows the exact quantity of 

 aliment which the grub will consume from the mo- 

 ment of its birth to the period of its maturity ; and 

 deposites precisely that supply which it will want, 

 from its tenderest state to the time when it shall 

 come out as perfect as herself. 



It will be recollected that the hive bee is furnished 

 with a species of basket to carry home the pollen 

 collected in the fields. The wood-boring bee, being 

 H2 



