Bramble-bees and Others 



mother's laying is broken up into intermittent 

 shifts of a couple of eggs apiece, is it neces- 

 sary that there should be a new home for each 

 shift? Is the semifluid resin unsuitable for 

 the wide-spanned roofs which would have to 

 be constructed when the diameter of the heli- 

 cal passage exceeded certain limits? Is the 

 gathering of the cement too wearisome a task 

 to leave the Bee any strength for making the 

 numerous partitions which she would need if 

 she utilized the spacious final whorl? I find 

 no answer to these questions. I note the fact 

 without interpreting it: when the shell is a 

 large one, the front part, forming almost the 

 whole of the last whorl, remains an empty 

 vestibule. 



For the spring Resin-bee, Anthidiiim sep- 

 temdentatum, this less than half occupied 

 lodging possesses no drawbacks. A contem- 

 porary of the Osmia, often her neighbour un- 

 der the same stone, the gum-worker makes 

 her nest at the same period as the mud- 

 worker; but there is no fear of mutual en- 

 croachments, for the two Bees, working next 

 door to each other, watch their respective 

 property with a jealous eye. If attempts at 

 usurpation were to be made, the owner of 



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