THE LEAF-CUTTING BEE, 27$ 



Its patience and industry. 



row end of the cell, the leaves are bent down so 

 as to form a convex termination. When a cell 

 is formed, the next care of the bee is to fill it 

 with honey and pollen, which, being collected 

 chiefly from the thistles, form a rose-coloured 

 paste. With these it is filled to within about 

 half a line of the orifice ; and she then deposits 

 in it an egg, and closes it with three perfectly 

 circular pieces of leaf, which coincide so exactly 

 with the walls of the cylindrical cell, as to be re- 

 tained in their situation without any gluten. 

 After this covering is fitted in, there still remains 

 a hollow which receives the convex end of the 

 succeeding cell. In this manner the patient and 

 indefatigable animal proceeds till her whole cy- 

 linder of six or seven cells is completed. This is 

 said to be generally formed under the surface of 

 the ground (or as Kirby says, in cavities of walls 

 and decayed wood) in a fistular passage, which 

 it entirely fills except at the entrance. If, by 

 any accident, the labour of these insects is inter- 

 rupted, or the edifice is deranged, they exhibit 

 astonishing perseverance in setting it again to 

 rights. This mode of forming a nest is not con- 

 fined to the present species, as several others 

 perform similar operations; but they adopt the 

 leaves of different trees for this purpose; such as 

 the horse-chesnut, the elm, &c. 



When one of these bees selects a rose-bush 

 with the view of cutting pieces out of the leaves, 

 she flies round, or hovers over it for some se- 



VOL. VI. NO. 45. 2 M 



