282 INSECT LIFE 



XX 



takes care to make a cocoon and hang the rude wall 

 of its abode with silk. The Anthophora and Halictus, 

 whose larvae spin no cocoon, varnish the inside of 

 their earthen cells delicately, giving them the polish 

 of worked ivory. 



The construction, the axis of which is always 

 nearly vertical, with an orifice opening upward, 

 so that the fluid honey may not run out, differs 

 a little in form, according to its basis. On a 

 horizontal surface it rises like a little oval tower ; 

 on a vertical or slanting one it resembles half a 

 thimble cut down its length. In this case the sup- 

 port — the pebble itself — completes the surrounding 

 wall. The cell completed, the bee sets to work at 

 once to store it. The neighbouring flowers, especi- 

 ally those of Genista scorpius, which in May turn 

 the alluviums of the torrents golden, furnish sugared 

 liquid and pollen. She comes with her crop swelled 

 with honey, and all yellow underneath with pollen 

 dust, and plunges head first into the cell, where for 

 some moments one may see her work her body in 

 a way which tells that she is disgorging honey. 

 Her crop emptied, she comes out, but only to go in 

 again at once — this time backwards. With her two 

 hind feet she now frees herself from her load of 

 pollen by brushing herself underneath. Again she 

 goes out, and returns head first. She must stir the 

 materials with her mandibles for a spoon, and mix 

 all thoroughly together. This labour of mixing is 

 not repeated after every journey, but only from time 

 to time, when a considerable quantity has been col- 

 lected. When the cell is half full, it is stored ; an 

 egg must be laid on the honey paste, and the door 



