CHAPTER II 



SOLITARY BEES AND WASPS 



OF the so-called solitary bees, none are more interesting 

 or display more ingenuity in the construction of their 

 nests than the leaf-cutting bees of this country. To lie 

 on a bed of roses is supposed to signify a life of ease and 

 luxury ; maybe this is the lot of the young leaf-cutter 

 bees, for in their larval stage, at any rate, if they are not, 

 strictly speaking, provided with beds of roses, their abodes 

 are lined with rose leaves. Usually the leaf-cutter bee 

 selects some old and weather-beaten willow for its nest ; 

 in one of the branches of the tree it makes a tunnel, a feat 

 which is easily accomplished, for the pith has generally 

 decayed away. Sometimes the burrow is in the ground, 

 then some disused worm-hole comes in handy, 



Wherever the site, when it is once settled the mother 

 bee betakes herself to some plant, a rose-bush or privet or 

 to some gaudy-petalled flower, such as a geranium, and 

 busies herself with a careful examination of its leaves or 

 flowers. The rose-bush seems to be the favourite. When 

 she has once made up her mind which is the most suitable 

 leaf for her operations, she loses no time in cutting it up. 

 There is no neater cutter of material in Savile Row than 

 the leaf-cutter bee. Perfectly circular or oval pieces are 

 cut, according to the use to which they are to be put. 

 So accurate are the circles that one cannot help wondering 

 how the insect accomplishes the feat. A peep at one of 

 these bees at work will soon provide an explanation. 



During the performance of her feat the bee converts 

 herself into a living compass. She straddles the margin 

 of the leaf with her hind legs, plants them firmly against 

 either surface, thus using her legs as one arm of the 



