A SAND QUARRY IN WINTER* 39 



white. The fact is that in its state of grubdom the 

 young bee feeds on the pollen of the thistle. The 

 mother bee, after finishing her burrow, goes off to the 

 fields, carrying away a quantity of the required pollen, 

 and places it at the end of the burrow, together with 

 the egg from which the future bee will emerge. The 

 pollen being quite white, the bee is covered with it, 

 just as a miller is covered with flour, so that she is 

 quite metamorphosed for the time. 



The sand being soft can easily be cut away with the 

 knife, and, a grass-stem having been previously intro- 

 duced into the burrow, there is no great difficulty in 

 tracing it to the end. Sometimes, however, a large 

 piece of sand breaks away and falls, carrying with it 

 the whole of the burrow together with the grass-stem. 

 At the end of the burrow may be found, at the proper 

 time of year, the cocoon containing the bee-grub, and 

 if it be carefully removed and placed in a box, the bee 

 itself will make its appearance in due time. I have 

 hatched out plenty of Kentish bees in this way. Al- 

 though so local, it is a very common insect in this part 

 of the country, where the soil is favourable. I am quite 

 sure that, contrary to the habits of most insects, the 

 Kentish bee has vastly increased in numbers since Kent 

 was brought into the high state of cultivation which 

 distinguishes the ' Garden of England.' 



Before man brought his hand to bear upon the soil, 

 the Kentish bee must have been sorely troubled to find 

 a suitable place for its burrows. Sand very seldom 



