Bramble-bees and Others 



greater safety of the family it was prudent to 

 block up. 



When the pupse are sufficiently matured, I 

 proceed to examine these elegant abodes. 

 The contents fill me with joy: they fulfil my 

 anticipations to the letter. The great, the 

 very great majority of the cocoons turn out 

 to be males; here and there, in the bigger 

 cells, a few rare females appear. The small- 

 ness of the space has almost done away with 

 the stronger sex. This result is demonstrated 

 by the sixty-eight Snail-shells colonized. But, 

 of this total number, I must use only those 

 series which received an entire laying and were 

 occupied by the same Osmia from the begin- 

 ning to the end of the egg-season. Here are 

 a few examples, taken from among the most 

 conclusive. 



From the 6th of May, when she started 

 operations, to the 25th of May, the date at 

 which her laying ceased, the Osmia occupied 

 seven Snail-shells in succession. Her family 

 consists of fourteen cocoons, a number very 

 near the average; and, of these fourteen 

 cocoons, twelve belong to males and only two 

 to females. These occupy the seventh and 

 thirteenth places in chronological order. 



176 



