150 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



bly a ball of pollen about as large as a pea. No larva was found 

 in any of the burrows. The whole of the labor falls upon the 

 female, the fore legs of the male being unable to dig, and the 

 hind legs unable to carry the pollen. 



The genus Andrena is of enormous extent, for in 1855, not less 

 than sixty-eight acknowledged species had been discovered in 

 England, and the number is probably increased after a space of 

 nearly ten years. 



One of the most interesting members of this family is the pret- 

 ty insect known by the name of Eucera longicornis, and believed 

 to be the only British representative of its genus. The name 

 longicornis, or long-horned, is derived from the very long anten- 

 nas of the male, which is also remarkable for a notch on the first 

 joint of the fore legs. The use of this notch we shall presently 

 see. Like the bees which have just been mentioned, the Eucera 

 digs a rather deep burrow, but prefers a clay soil. The extremi- 

 ty of the burrow is widened into an oval cell, the walls of which 

 are beaten and pressed by the insect until they are quite hard. 

 The reason for this precaution is, that the cell is stored with a 

 mixture of honey and pollen, which is of a semi-fluid consistency, 

 and would be absorbed by the earth if the walls of the cell were 

 not " puddled," as engineers call the operation. 



Within the cell is placed the egg, and in due time the larva is 

 hatched, and feeds on the soft sweet mixture with which it is sur- 

 rounded. It then changes into the pupal condition, and is re- 

 markable for being enveloped in a very thin pellicle, something 

 like the slough of a snake. Even the antennas are enveloped sep- 

 arately in the pellicle, and the male would find great difficulty in 

 divesting itself from the membrane, were it not for the notch in 

 the fore legs. As soon, however, as it is partially free, the insect 

 bends down its head, lodges successively each antennas in the 

 notch, closes the joint upon it, and then, by drawing the antennas 

 through the notch, strips off the pellicle with perfect ease. 



Among these insects, the females are treated much as the wives 

 of savages are treated. All the work falls to their lot, and the 

 males do nothing but amuse themselves, circling about the nests 

 in graceful undulations, while the females are hard at work, dig- 

 ging the burrows and fetching home the food. Still, there is no 

 doubt but that this disparity is only in appearance, and that the 

 one sex feels as much enjoyment in following the instinct which 



