THE HOME OF THE BEES. 



Fig. 28. 



Nest (natural size) of Andrena vicina, 

 showing the main burrow, and the 

 cells leading from it; the oldest cell 

 containing the pupa (a) is situated 

 nearest the surface, while those con- 

 taining the larva (6) lie between the 

 pupa and the coll (e) containing the 

 pollen mass and egg resting upon it. 

 The most recent cell (/) is the deep- 

 est down, and contains a freshly 

 deposited pollen mass. At c is the 

 beginning of a cell; g, level of the 

 ground. 



made on several species of 

 wasps, and also from studying 

 the structure of her jaws and 

 legs, it is evident that she digs 

 in and loosens the soil with her 

 powerful jaws, and then throws 

 out the dirt with her legs. She 

 uses her fore legs like hands, to 

 pass the load of dirt to her hind 

 legs, and then 'runs backward 

 out of her hole to clump it clown 

 behind her. Mr. Emerton tells 

 me that he never saw a bee in 

 the act of digging but once, 

 and then she left oft' after a few 

 strokes. He also says, "they 

 are harmless and inoffensive. 

 On several occasions I have lain 

 on the grass near their holes for 

 hours, but not one attempted to 

 sting me; and when taken be- 

 tween the fingers, they make but 

 feeble resistance." 



To enter somewhat into detail, 

 we gather from the observations 

 of Mr. Emerton (who has care- 

 fully watched the habits of these 

 bees through several seasons) 

 the following account of the 

 economy of this bee : On the 4th 

 of May the bees were seen dig- 

 ging their holes, most of which 

 were already two inches deep, 

 and one, six inches. The mounds 

 of earth were so small as to be 

 hardly noticed. At this time 

 an Oil beetle was seen prowling 

 about the holes. The presence 

 of this dire foe of Audrena at this 

 time, it will be seen in a suc- 

 ceeding chapter on the enemies 



