THE ROSE-CUTTER BEE. 107 



guish the insect. A practised eye, however, looks out for the 

 antennae, and is at once attracted by their waving grace. 



The larva of the Musk Beetle is a mighty borer, making holes 

 into which an ordinary drawing-pencil could be passed. Old 

 and decaying willow-trees are its favourite resort, and in some 

 places the willows are positively riddled with the burrows. If 

 such a tree be sawn open longitudinally, a curious scene is pre- 

 sented to the spectator. In some spots, the interior is hollowed 

 out by nearly parallel burrows, until it looks as if it had been 

 tunnelled by the shipworm, while sections are made of burrows 

 that turn suddenly aside, or gradually diverge towards the yet 

 uneaten parts of the timber. In some of the holes will be found 

 the long white grubs, in others tlie pupa may be seen lying 

 quiescent, while a perfect beetle or two may possibly be dis- 

 covered near the entrance of the holes. Nor are the Musk 

 Beetles the only tenants of the tree, for there is generally an 

 assemblage of woodlice, centipedes, and other dark-loving 

 creatures, which have crawled into the deserted holes, and 

 taken up their abode within the tree. 



We now come to the wood-boring bees, the name of which is 

 legion, and a few examples of which will be now described. 



The first is the RosE-cu^n'ER Bee {Megachik Willoiighbiella), 

 or Willow Bee, as it is often called, because its burrows are 

 so frequently made in decaying willow-trees. This species is 

 very common in most parts of England, and is therefore a good 

 example of the wood-boring bees. The method by which the 

 nests are made is very curious. After the insect has bored a 

 hole of suitable dimensions in some old tree, she sets off in 

 search of materials for the cells, and mostly betakes herself to a 

 rose-bush, or laburnum-tree. She then examines one leaf after 

 another, and having fixed on one to her mind, she settles upon 

 it, clinging to its edge with her feet, and then, using her feet as 

 one leg of a pair of compasses, and her jaws as the other, she 

 quickly cuts out a nearly semicircular piece of leaf. As she 

 supports herself by clinging to the very piece of leaf which she 

 ciits, she would fall to the ground, when the leaf was severed, 



