176 LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 



Jlunt M. All the bees of which I have been 

 telling you live in families, and unite their la- 

 bors for the common good. But this is not the 

 case with every species of bee. 



Many of them live alone ; the female builds 

 the nest, deposits her eggs in it, and never sees 

 them afterward. 



This is the case with the Carpenter bee so 

 called from the circumstance of its being a 

 worker in wood ; and a most complete carpen- 

 ter it is. There are several kinds of carpenter 

 bees; but I will describe the nest of one of them, 

 which will give you an idea of their manner of 

 building. 



The bee selects an old post, into which she 

 cuts a hole, or tube, about a foot in length, and 

 half an inch in width. This, as you may sup- 

 pose, requires a vast deal of labor. It is no 

 small matter for a little bee to cut a hole a foot 

 long in a wooden post. But the work is beau- 

 tifully done: the sides are made perfectly smooth, 

 and every chip and particle of sawdust taken 

 out of the tube. But these chips are not thrown 

 away, for the little carpenter has further use for 

 them ; and she therefore piles them up in a heap 

 at a short distance from her nest. The long 



