The Osmiae 



done enough harvesting, she closes up the 

 chamber. In this case, there is no measuring; 

 and yet the capacity of the cell and the quant- 

 ity of the victuals fulfil the regular require- 

 ments of one or the other sex. 



Then what does the Osmia do when she 

 repeatedly stops to touch the front partition 

 with her forehead and the back partition, the 

 one in the course of building, with the tip of 

 her abdomen? I have no idea what she does 

 or what she has in view. I leave the interpre- 

 tation of this performance to others, more 

 venturesome than I. Plenty of theories are 

 based on equally shaky foundations. Blow 

 on them; and they sink Into the quagmire of 

 oblivion. 



The laying is finished, or perhaps the cylin- 

 der is full. A final partition closes the last 

 cell. A rampart Is now built, at the orifice 

 of the tube itself, to forbid the ill-disposed 

 all access to the home. This Is a thick plug, 

 a massy work of fortification, whereon the 

 Osmia spends enough mortar to partition off 

 any number of cells. A whole day Is not too 

 long for making this barricade, especially In 

 view of the minute finishing-touches, when the 

 Osmia fills up with putty every chink through 



83 



