Bramble-Dwellers 



orifice which the bramble-stem boasts, the ori- 

 fice at the top. There is here but one obstacle, 

 easy to overcome: a plug of glued pith, of 

 which the insect's mandibles make short work. 

 Down below, the stalk offers no ready outlet; 

 besides, it is prolonged underground indefi- 

 nitely by the roots. Every elsewhere is the 

 ligneous fence, generally too hard and thick to 

 break through. It is inevitable therefore that 

 all the Osmiae, when the time comes to quit 

 their dwelling, should go out by the top; and, 

 as the narrowness of the shaft bars the pas- 

 sage of the preceding insect so long as the 

 next one, the insect above it, remains in its 

 position, the removal must begin at the top, 

 extend from cell to cell and end at the bottom. 

 Consequently, the order of exit is the converse 

 to the order of birth: the younger Osmiae 

 leave the nest first, their elders leave It last. 



The oldest, that is to say, the bottom one, 

 was the first to finish her supply of honey and 

 to spin her cocoon. Taking precedence of all 

 her sisters in the whole series of her actions, 

 she was the first to burst her silken bag and 

 to destroy the ceiling that closes her room; at 

 least, that is what the logic of the situation 

 takes for granted. In her anxiety to get out, 



10 



