OF NATURAL HISTORY. 831 



convenient lodging and protecfllon of their young. Thefe it 

 is unneceflary to repeat. We fliall therefore proceed to give 

 fome examples of a different kind. 



There are feveral fpecies of bees diftinguifhed by the ap- 

 pellation oi folitaryy becaufe they do not alTociate to carry on 

 any joint operations. Of this kind is the mnfoti-beey fo called 

 becaufe it builds a habitation compofed of fand and mortar. 

 The nefts of this bee are fixed to the walls of houfes, and, 

 ■when finifhed, have the appearance of irregular prominences 

 arifing from dirt or clay accidentally thrown againft a wall 

 or ftone by the feet of horfes. Thefe prominencies are not 

 fo remarkable as to attract attention ; but, when the exter- 

 nal coat is removed, their ftruflure is difcovered to be truly 

 admirable. The interior part confifts of an aflemblage of 

 different cells, each of which affords a convenient lodgement 

 to a white worm, pretty fimilar to thofe produced by the 

 honey-bee. Here they remain till they have undergone all 

 their metamorphofes. In conftru<Sling this nell:, which is a 

 work of great labour and dexterity, the female is the fole 

 operator. She receives no affiftance from the male. The 

 manner in which the female mafon-bees build their nefts is 

 the mofl: curious branch of their hiftory. 



After choofmg a part of a wall on which fhe is refolved to 

 fix an habitation for her future progeny, flie goes in quefl: 

 of proper materials. The neft to be conftrudted mufi: confiil 

 of a fpecies of mortar, of which fand is the bafis. She knows, 

 like human builders, that every kind of fand is not equally 

 proper for making good mortar. She goes, therefore, to a 

 bed of fand and felects, grain by grain, the kind which i» 

 beft to anfwer her purpofe. With her teeth, which are as 

 large and as ftrong as thofe of the honey-bee, flie examines 

 and brings together feveral grains. But fand alone will not 

 make mortar. Recourfe muff be had to a cement fimilar to 

 the flacked lime employed by mafons. Our bee is unae* 



