Solitary Bees and Wasps 



as small carpenter-bees. They have been given the name 

 because their nests somewhat resemble those of the true 

 carpenter-bees. These diminutive insects are not hairy, as 

 are most of the other bees, yet they are remarkable for the 

 brilliancy of their colouring, the prevailing shades being 

 blue, blue-black, black or green, with a metallic sheen. 

 Being tiny creatures, they do not possess the architectural 

 capabilities of the bees from which they take their name, 

 so they select plants with a soft pith for their operations. 

 The British species makes its home in the bramble ; 

 hunting about till it finds a broken branch, it has no 

 difficulty in scooping the pith from within. The whole 

 of the tunnel thus formed is lined with a delicate silky 

 membrane. It is partitioned into chambers, much in the 

 same way as is the tunnel of the carpenter-bee, but, instead 

 of using the material taken from its burrow for the 

 purpose, the bee collects little pellets of mud and with 

 these constructs her partitions, storing each cell with 

 honey, pollen and a single egg after the manner of all 

 solitary bees. 



The wool-carder bee constructs a nest which is worthy 

 of notice ; in appearance it is a ball of white wool enclosing 

 the wax cells. It is said of this bee that it never makes 

 a hole of its own in which to place its nest, but that it 

 prefers door locks, snail shells, etc. The "wool " of which 

 this bee constructs its nest is obtained from the hairs of 

 various plants. Gilbert White, in his Natural History of 

 Selborne, wrote of this insect : " There is a sort of wild bee 

 frequenting the garden-campion for the sake of its 

 tomentum, which probably it turns to some purpose in the 

 business of nidification. It is very pleasant to see with 

 what address it strips off the pubes, running from the top 

 to the bottom of the branch, and shaving it bare with the 

 dexterity of a hoop-shaver. When it has got a bundle 

 almost as large as itself it flies away, holding it secure 

 between its chin and its fore-legs." 



The ingenuity displayed by the solitary bee is diverted 



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