342 OBSER VA TIONS ON INSECTS. 



WILD BEE. 



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 a branch, and 

 shaving it bare with all the dexterity of a hoop-shaver. 

 When it has got a vast bundle, almost as large as itself, it 

 flies away, holding it secure between its chin and its 

 fore legs. 



There is a remarkable hill on the downs near Lewes in 

 Sussex, known by the name of Mount Carburn, which 

 overlooks that town, and affords a most engaging prospect 

 of all the country round, besides several views of the sea. 

 On the very summit of this exalted promontory, and amidst 

 the trenches of its Danish camp, there haunts a species of 

 wild bee, making its nest in the chalky soil. When people 

 approach the place, these insects begin to be alarmed, and, 

 with a sharp and hostile sound, dash and strike round the 

 heads and faces of intruders. I have often been interrupted 

 myself while contemplating the grandeur of the scenery 

 around me, and have thought myself in danger of being 

 stung. — White. 



WASPS. 



Wasps abound in woody wild districts far from neighbour- 

 hoods j they feed on flowers, and catch flies and caterpillars 

 to carry to their young. Wasps make their nests with the 

 raspings of sound timber ; hornets, with what they gnaw 

 from decayed : these particles of wood are kneaded up with 

 a mixture of saliva from their bodies and moulded into 

 combs. 



When there is no fruit in the gardens, wasps eat flies, 



