Bramble-bees and Others 



ter both of ready-prepared food and of sepa- 

 rate compartments for the rearing of each 

 larva. It Is only in the boring of the galle- 

 ries, the most laborious part of the work, that 

 economy can occasionally be exercised by a 

 piece of luck. Well, is the powerful Car- 

 penter, all unheeding of fatigue, able to take 

 advantage of such fortunate occasions? Does 

 she know how to make use of houses which 

 she has not tunnelled herself? Why, yes: a 

 free lodging suits her just as much as it does 

 the various Mason-bees. She knows as well as 

 they the economic advantages of an old nest 

 that is still in good condition: she settles 

 down, as far as possible, in her predecessors' 

 galleries, after freshening up the sides with a 

 superficial scraping. And she does better still. 

 She readily accepts lodgings which have never 

 known a drill, no matter whose. The stout 

 reeds used in the trellis-work that supports 

 the vines are valuable discoveries, providing 

 as they do sumptuous galleries free of cost. 

 No preliminary work or next to none is re- 

 quired with these. Indeed, the insect does not 

 even trouble to make a side-opening, which 

 would enable it to occupy the cavity contained 

 within two nodes; it prefers the opening at 



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