The Osmiae 



declaring their passion : with that fearsome 

 gnashing of their mandibles, the lovers look 

 as though they meant to devour each other. 

 It suggests the thumps affected by our yokels 

 in their moments of gallantry. 



The ingenuous idyll is soon over. By turns 

 greeting and greeted with a clash of jaws, 

 the female leaves her gallery and begins im- 

 passively to polish her wings. The rivals 

 rush forward, hoist themselves on top of one 

 another and form a pyramid of which each 

 struggles to occupy the base by toppling over 

 the favoured lover. He, however, is careful 

 not to let go; he waits for the strife overhead 

 to calm down; and, when the supernumeraries 

 realize that they are wasting their time and 

 throw up the game, the couple fly away far 

 from the turbulent rivals. This is all that I 

 have been able to gather about the Osmia's 

 nuptials. 



The females, who grow more numerous 

 from day to day, inspect the premises; they 

 buzz outside the glass galleries and the reed 

 dwellings; they go in, stay for a while, come 

 out, go in again and then fly away briskly into 

 the garden. They return, first one, then an- 

 other. They halt outside, in the sun, on the 



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