The True Bees 



The large carpenter bees, however, do not confine them- 

 selves to the stems of plants. Their burrows are so large that 

 they are frequently made in the dead trunks of old trees and com- 

 monly in lumber, and even in the joists of buildings. The 

 commonest of the large carpenter bees in this country is Xyloco- 

 pa virginica. This large black-bodied bee, as big as the biggest 

 bumblebee, but with a flatter and less hairy abdomen, bores 

 symmetrical tunnels into solid wood, choosing in civilized regions 

 fence posts and boards. The burrow is a half-inch in diameter, 

 and runs horizontally across the grain for about the length of the 

 insect's body, and is then turned downward at right angles and 

 runs with the grain from twelve to eighteen inches. In this bor- 

 ing the bee progresses at the average rate of about half an inch 

 a day, occupying at least two days in digging the first portion 

 against the grain of the wood. After the burrow is once com- 

 menced, their persistence in returning to continue the work, in spite 

 of all obstacles, is very remarkable. One of these indefatigable bees 



Fig. 6. — Legs of different bees : a, Anthophora 

 d, Nomada ; e, Agapostemon ; f, Nomia. 



b, Melissodes ; c, Perdita 

 {From Insect Life.) 



once started a burrow in a lintel over the front door of the writer's 

 house in Georgetown. She was repeatedly driven away, was 

 struck with a broom a number of times, and finally ceased from 

 her labors only because kerosene was squirted at her through a 

 syringe with accurate aim. It was the hand of death alone which 

 released her from her work. 



9 



