80 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Discoveries by JVI de Reaumur. 



M. de Reaumur having been furnished with 

 a piece of wood, about an inch and a half in dia- 

 meter, that contained the cells of one of these 

 bees, cut off as much of the wood as was suffici- 

 ent to expose two of the cells to view, in each of 

 which was a larva. To prevent the injuries of 

 the air, he closed the aperture that he had made 

 by pasting it on a bit of glass. The cells were at 

 that time almost entirely filled with paste. The 

 two worms were exceedingly small, and, of 

 course, occupied but little space between the 

 walls of the cells and the mass of paste. As the 

 animals increased in size, the paste daily dimi- 

 nished. In about fifteen days, the paste in each 

 cell was nearly consumed, and the worm, folded 

 in two, occupied the greater part of its habita- 

 tion. In a week after the provisions of both, 

 worms were entirely exhausted. The five or six 

 following days they fasted, which seemed to be 

 a necessary abstinence, during which they were 

 greatly agitated. They often beat their bodies, 

 and elevated and depressed their heads. These 

 movements were preparatory to the great change 

 that the animals were about to undergo. In six 

 days they threw off their skins, and were meta- 

 morphosed into nymphs; and they became per- 

 fect insects in three weeks afterwards. 



As, in a range of cells, the worms must neces- 

 sarily be of different ages, and of course of diffe- 

 rent sizes, those in the lower ones are older than 

 those in the superior; because, after the bee has- 



