Mason-Bees. 49 



When employed upon the building itself, the bee exhibited 

 the restless disposition peculiar to most hymenopterous * 

 insects ; for she did not go on with one particular portion of 

 her wall, but ran about from place to place every time she 

 came to work. At first, when we saw her running from the 

 bottom to the top of her building, we naturally imagined that 

 she went up for some of the bricklayer's mortar to mix with 

 her own materials ; but upon minutely examining the walls 

 afterwards, no lime could be discovered in their structure 

 similar to that which was apparent in the nest found in the 

 wall of Greenwich Park. 



Reaumur mentions another sort of mason-bee, which selects 

 a small cavity in a stone, in which she forms her nest of 

 garden-mould moistened with gluten, and afterwards closes 

 the whole with the same material. 



[In the accompanying illustration is shown a series of cells 

 which are constructed by an insect which is closely related to 



Cells of Chalicodoma. 



the rose-cutter bee of our own country, to which it bears a 

 close resemblance. 



It is a native of South Africa, and its name is Chalicodoma 

 ccelocerus. The insect is about half an inch in length, and the 

 colour of the head and body is black, that of the abdomen 

 being brick red. 



* The fifth order of Linnaeus; insects with four transparent veined wings. 



