Bramble-bees and Others 



widens into a graceful mouth. They look like 

 tiny vaccine-phials laid on their sides. All of 

 them open into the passage. 



The inside of these little cells has the gloss 

 and polish of a stucco which our most ex- 

 perienced plasterers might envy. It is dia- 

 pered with faint, longitudinal, diamond- 

 shaped marks. These are the traces of 

 the polishing-tool that has given the last finish 

 to the work. What can this polisher be? 

 None other than the tongue, that is obvious. 

 The Halictus has made a trowel of her tongue 

 and licked the wall daintily and methodically 

 in order to polish it. 



This final glazing, so exquisite in its perfec- 

 tion, is preceded by a trimming-process. In 

 the cells that are not yet stocked with pro- 

 visions, the walls are dotted with tiny dents 

 like those in a thimble. Here we recognize 

 the work of the mandibles, which squeeze the 

 clay with their tips, compress it and purge it 

 of any grains of sand. The result is a milled 

 surface whereon the polished layer will find 

 a solid adhesive base. This layer is obtained 

 with a fine clay, very carefully selected by the 

 insect, purified, softened and then applied 

 atom by atom, after which the trowel of the 



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