Bramble-bees and Others 



which the least atom could slip. The mason 

 finishing a wall smoothes his plaster and 

 brings it to a fine surface while it is still wet ; 

 the Osmia does the same, or almost. With 

 little taps of the mandibles and a continual 

 shaking of her head, a sign of her zest for 

 the work, she smoothes and polishes the sur- 

 face of the lid for hours at a time. After 

 such pains, what foe could be expected to visit 

 the dwelling? 



And yet there Is one, an Anthrax, Anthrax 

 sinuata,^ who will come later, in the height 

 of summer, and succeed, invisible bit of 

 thread that she Is, In making her way to the 

 grub through the thickness of the door and 

 the web of the cocoon. In many cells, mis- 

 chief of another kind has already been done. 

 During the progress of the works, an Impu- 

 dent Midge, one of the Tachina-flies, who 

 feeds her family on the victuals amassed by 

 the Bee, hovers In front of the galleries. 

 Does she penetrate to the cells and lay her 

 eggs there In the mother's absence? I could 

 never catch the sneak In the act. Does she, 

 like that other Tachina who ravages cells 



^Cf. The Life of the Fly: chaps, ii. and iv. — Translat- 

 or's Note. 



84 



