ON BREEDING ACULEATES, ETC. 115 



natural surroundings, in which the actual sun- 

 shine would never reach them it would be 

 better to place them in a sunny room, screened 

 off from the actual rays of the sun, so that its 

 warmth only would be felt. If they do not 

 emerge the first year, it should not be taken for 

 granted that they are dead, as very likely they 

 will appear in the following spring. I have bred 

 leaf-cutting bees several times with great success, 

 and others I know have been successful with 

 many species. The fear is to get them dried up 

 too much ; it is therefore not desirable to keep 

 them in a very hot room. When first the insects 

 emerge, their hairs are often more or less matted 

 together, and they should be put in the sun in 

 a larger box, so that they can crawl about and 

 clean themselves ; portions also of the skin in 

 which they have been enveloped frequently 

 adhere to them for some little time, but as a 

 rule, unless the creature be too weak, these are 

 very soon cleaned off. Breeding is a fascinating 

 amusement, but it requires a great deal of 

 attention when the emerging season begins, as 

 the boxes want constant watching, or the insects 

 will emerge unnoticed, and, if not given proper 



