THE BEE. 115 



gather honey, as well as the common bees ; but 

 it is neither so fine nor so good, nor the wax so 

 clean or so capable of fusion. 



Beside the bees already mentioned, there are 

 various kinds among us, that have much the ap- 

 pearance of honey-makers, and yet make only 

 wax. The Wood-Bee is seen in every garden. 

 It is rather larger than the common queen-bee ; 

 its body of a bluish-black, which is smooth and 

 shining. It begins to appear at the approach of 

 spring, and is seen flying near walls exposed to a 

 sunny aspect. This bee makes its nest in some 

 piece of wood, which it contrives to scoop and 

 hollow for its purpose. This, however, is never 

 done in trees that are standing, for the wood it 

 makes choice of is half rotten. The holes are not 

 made directly forward, but turning to one side, 

 and have an opening sufficient to admit one's 

 middle finger, from whence runs the inner apart- 

 ment, generally twelve or fifteen inches long. 

 The instruments used in boring these cavities 

 are their teeth : the cavity is usually branched 

 into three or four apartments, and in each of 

 these they lay their eggs, to the number of ten 

 or twelve, each separate and distinct from the 

 rest. The egg is involved in a sort of paste, 

 which serves at once for the young animal's pro- 

 tection and nourishment. The grown bees, how- 

 ever, feed upon small insects, particularly a louse 

 of a reddish-brown colour, of the size of a small 

 pin's head. 



Mason-Bees make their cells with a sort of mor- 

 tar, made of earth, which they build against a 



