386 NOTES ON THE HABITS OF INSECTS. 



pair of feet to the next. Occasionally she comes to the mouth 

 of her hole, it may be to rest herself, or to look round 

 and see that no enemies are near. This cylindrical hole, 

 which is generally about ten or twelve inches long, is to be 

 divided into nearly twenty cells, which are to be filled with 

 food for her ^^ parvos Qidrites" one of which will occupy each 

 cell. 



Let us suppose a sufficient length of the post to be exca- 

 vated, there remains a great difficulty to be got over. The 

 egg which is first deposited will, of course, be the first to 

 hatch, the earliest larva will, therefore, first become a pupa, 

 and also will undergo the final change sooner than the 

 younger part of the brood above. To guard against the con- 

 fusion which must necessarily arise from this, she continues 

 the hole, changing the direction of it until it assumes a hori- 

 zontal course, and at length arrives again at the outside, thus 

 leaving an easy escape for the first of the brood without dis- 

 turbing those above, which will not appear for from two to 

 five days later. In this, as in much else, the habits of this 

 bee resemble those of Xylocopa violacea, as detailed by 

 Reaumur, Tom. VI. p. 40, et seq. 



She now closes the hole just above the lower bend with a 

 partition, consisting of fine sand firmly glued together by 

 means of a viscid saliva, with which she is copiously furnished. 



What now remains for her to do is light and pleasing com- 

 pared to her former labours — 



" Ilia continuo saltus silvasque peragrat, 

 Purpureosque nietit flores et flumina libit 

 Summaleves. Hinc nescio qua dulcedine laeta 

 Progeniem nidumque fovet." 



Having stored a sufficient quantity of food, which consists 

 of pollen from the anthers and honey from the nectaries of 

 flowers, for the support of one larva, she deposits an egg, and 

 then closes the cell in the same manner as she formed the 

 bottom of it. She now begins to store up more food, deposits 

 another egg, and closes that cell, proceeding thus until she 

 has quite filled the perpendicular part of the hole. 



Her task now draws to a conclusion, she has only to close 

 the two apertures ; the lower one being intended for the outlet 

 is merely closed in the same way as the cells, with very fine 

 sand, but as the upper one is much more exposed to danger 



