OSMIA AND ITS HABITS 



I HAVE tried as much as possible to avoid 

 scientific names, but the misfortune is that there 

 are hardly any popular names in use which can 

 be attached for certain to any particular species, 

 and unless this can be done it is of no use using 

 vague names like the " Carpenter Bee ", the 

 " Mason Bee ", etc. There are many carpenter 

 bees and many mason bees, and though their 

 habits may be alike in this one particular they 

 differ among themselves in the way they use 

 their tools, and it is necessary to know which 

 one we are talking about. It is a common 

 thing to hear people inveighing against Latin 

 names, etc., but they forget that there are no 

 English ones in use, and what is more important, 

 that Greek and Latin names are common 

 property to all nations, so that we can all know 

 what we are talking about, whereas if we call 

 an insect by an English name and the Eussians 



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