226 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



The Osmia loves mystery. She wants a dark retreat, 

 hidden from the eye. I would like, nevertheless, to 

 watch her in the privacy of her home and to witness her 

 work with the same facility as if she were nest-building 

 in the open air. Perhaps there are some interesting 

 characteristics to be picked up in the depths of her 

 retreats. It remains to be seen whether my wish can 

 be realized. 



When studying the insect's mental capacity, especially 

 its very retentive memory for places, I was led to ask 

 myself whether it would not be possible to make a 

 suitably-chosen Bee build in any place that I wished, 

 even in my study. And I wanted, for an experiment 

 of this sort, not an individual but a numerous colony. 

 My preference lent towards the Three-horned Osmia, 

 who is very plentiful in my neighborhood, where, to- 

 gether with Latreille's Osmia, she frequents in particular 

 the monstrous nests of the Chalicodoma of the Sheds. 

 I therefore thought out a scheme for making the Three- 

 horned Osmia accept my study as her settlement and 

 build her nest in glass tubes, through which I could easily 

 watch the progress. To these crystal galleries, which 

 might well inspire a certain distrust, were to be added 

 more natural retreats: reeds of every length and thick- 

 ness and disused Chalicodoma-nests taken from among 

 the biggest and the smallest. A scheme like this sounds 

 mad. I admit it, while mentioning that perhaps none 

 ever succeeded so well with me. We shall see as much 

 presently. 



My method is extremely simple. All I ask is that the 



