The Resin-bees 



same passion in a very high degree, I see no 

 reason why the Anthidia should be looked 

 upon as more zealous looters than the others. 

 If he had known their cotton nests, perhaps 

 the Scandinavian naturalist would have given 

 them a more logical denomination. As for 

 me, in a language w^herein technical parade 

 is out of place, I will call them the Cotton- 

 bees. 



The term requires some limiting. To 

 judge by my finds in fact, the old genus An- 

 thidium, that of the classifying entomologists, 

 comprises in my district two very different 

 corporations. One is known to us and w^orks 

 exclusively in wadding; the other, which we 

 are about to study, works in resin, without 

 ever having recourse to cotton. Faithful to 

 my extremely simple principle of defining the 

 worker, as far as possible, by his work, I will 

 call the members of this guild the Resin-bces. 

 Thus confining myself to the data supplied by 

 my observations, I divide the Anthidium 

 group into equal sections, of equal im- 

 portance, for which I demand special generic 

 titles; for it is highly illogical to call the card- 

 ers of wool and the kneaders of resin by the 

 same name. I surrender to those whom it 



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