34 CONVERSATIONS ON 



" Very true : but this is not the only cutter- 

 out of leaves among the bees. There is an- 

 other kind, called the poppy-bee,* because it 

 uses the scarlet leaves of the poppy-flower to 

 line its cell. It makes its hole in the ground, 

 as smooth and regular and polished as can be, 

 and then proceeds to line it all around with 

 pieces of the leaves, and cuts them to fit as 

 she goes on. If a piece is too large she will 

 trim it down to the proper size and shape, and 

 always carries away the scraps. Now if you 

 should take a pair of scissors and try to cut 

 the leaf of a poppy-flower, you would wrinkle 

 it, but this little workman will spread out what 

 she cuts as smooth as glass. When she has 

 lined this hole throughout, and carried the 

 lining out beyond the entrance, she fills it with 

 honey and pollen, or bee-bread, as it is called, 

 about half an inch high, lays an egg, then 

 folds down the leaves on it, and finally fills 

 the upper part with earth." 



" Then she was not working for herself?" 



" No ; she was providing a house for her 

 young, and GOD has taught her thus to take 

 care of it. 



"I will now tell you of another little work- 



* Osmia papaveris. 



