THE HONEYBEE AND BEES IN GENERAL 



265 



top cell has matured, the mother leads forth her full-fledged 

 family in a flight into the sunshine. This is the only case known 

 to the writer where a solitary bee watches her nest till her young 

 mature " (199, p. 669). 



(3) SOLITARY BEES WITH A TENDENCY TOWARD A GREGARIOUS 



HABIT. Short-tongued bees of the genus Andrena are called 



mining bees, because they dig tunnels in the earth, often more 



than a foot deep (Fig, 149, B). From the sides of these tunnels 



A 



FIG. 149. Diagrams of nest burrows of short-tongued mining bees. A, nest 

 of Halictus; B, nest of Andrena. (From Kellogg.) 



branches lead into cells, in each of which pollen is stored and 

 an egg is laid. The entrance to the cell is then closed. These 

 mining bees seem to enjoy the company of others of their kind, 

 and though each digs her own nest, many tunnels may be placed 

 close to one another, forming villages, sometimes as much as fif- 

 teen feet in diameter, and containing over a thousand nests. 



