April 1, 1898.] 



KNOWLEDGE, 



83 



Fio. 4.— Heiid of Loaf. cutter Be 

 Mandibles ready for cutting. 



rose bush. These bees are remarkable for their strength 

 of flight and mtiscular mandibles, legs, and stings, while in 

 general build they are much heavier than the honey bee. 



(Fig. 2.) The pollen- 

 gathering hairs are 

 spiral in shape, 

 arranged in rows on 

 the under side of the 

 abdomen (Fig. 3), 

 and are of a chestnut 

 colour. The males 

 of iV. WUluijhhiAh, 

 are very beautifully 

 clothed with hairs of 

 wonderful form. 

 This is especially 

 noticeable in the 

 tarsal joints of the 

 anterior legs, which 

 have long fringes 

 of curled hairs. 

 These hairs are 

 spread wide open and the legs kept forward when the 

 bee is on the wing following in the wake of the female. 

 I'pon her he waits in the most attentive manner, flying 

 after her wherever she goes, though sometimes his atten- 

 tions do not appear to be altogether appreciated. As 

 soon as the courting and nuptials are over, the female goes 

 in search of a suitable sandbank in which to drive her 

 tunnel. This she makes about half an inch in diameter, 



and excavates to a 

 depth of eight or 

 nine Inches in a 

 horizontal direction 

 (Fig. 6). The sand 

 is at first removed 

 with her powerful 

 jaws (Figs. 4 and 5), 

 but as she goes 

 deeper and deeper 

 the legs are used for 

 cleaning it away by 

 scratching and 

 shooting it out at 

 the entrance. When 

 the required depth 

 has been reached, 

 and the burrow 

 cleared and swept 

 of all loose sand, the bee carefully lines it with a 

 delicate membrane laid on in a fluid state from its 

 mouth. When this operation is finished, the burrow 



Fig. 



-Head of Leaf-cutte 

 showing Ch'peus. 



Fig. 6. — Tunnel of the Leaf-cutter Bee, driven into a 

 Sandbank. 



is ready for the reception of the building materials 

 forming the cells. In the case of WilluffhbieUa these 

 are made entirely of pieces of green rose leaves, taken 



Fit 



-Third Pair of Le 



preferably from a Marechal Niel. The building up of 

 these cells, were they constructed by human hands, would 

 no doubt be looked upon as a wonderful performance ; but 

 where could be found a workman clever enough to attempt 

 such a task, even supposing he were allowed to make the 

 habitation on a much larger scale '? Let us examine the 

 structure in detail. We find a hole ten inches deep 

 and half an inch in 

 diameter, containing 

 from nine to a dozen 

 cylindrical cells fit- 

 ting one on top of each 

 other somewhat like 

 a pile of thimbles. 

 They are all of one 

 size, and are com- 

 posed of pieces of 

 leaves, cut to certain 

 shapes, each piece 

 being accurately fitted 

 and placed in order in 

 its right position. 



It is only after years 

 and years of the most 

 careful observations, 

 aided by a number of 

 small contrivances for 

 watching these creatures at work, that we are able to give 

 every detail as we have seen it. But such observations 

 are not to be completed in one season. The links com- 

 posing the life-history of any common insect often remain 

 hidden, and evade the most untiring search for years, or 

 the greater part of one's life. Some writers state that this 

 bee, after cutting ten or twelve pieces of leaves, "enters 

 the tunnel, and begins to twist and fold the leaves, making 

 them fit together into a sort of funnel-shaped cone, 

 something like a 

 thimble." A human 

 being does occasion- 

 ally do things in a 

 rough, jumbling 

 fashion, but a leaf- 

 cutter bee, never ! I 

 speak positively on 

 this subject, as I have 

 watched the bee make 

 its burrow and then 

 commence its cell, 

 besides having fre- 

 quently unearthed 

 burrows containing 

 cells in all stages. 



Now let us go back 

 to plain facts, leaving 

 theories for " the 

 armchair naturalist." 

 The tools with which this wonderful leaf-cutter bee cuts 

 out most accurate circular pieces of leaves are her two 

 powerful jaws (Figs. 4 and 5). These are beautifully 

 chiselled out, so that the exceedingly hard edges of the 

 teeth are perfectly sharp, working one over the other like 

 a pair of gardener's shears. Another valuable and in- 

 dispensable set of tools is to be found in the six legs, 

 each one containing several brushes and combs of the 

 finest quality and each one adapted for a certain purpose, 

 while the whole set of legs form a perfect vice (Figs. 7 

 and 8), in which the leaf to be cut is held in a firm 

 grasp, and in such a position that the jaws and head 

 can work round freely — so freely, indeed, that in less than 



Fig. 8.— Third Pair of Legs, siuf. 



