562 
AETICULATA. 
THE CARDEK-BEE S NEST. 
THE IIASON-BEB. 
the next bee, who passes it hi the same maiineT to the next, and so on till it is brought to the 
border of the nest. — in the same way as we sometimes see sugar-loaves con- 
veyed from a cart to a warehouse, by a file of porters throwing them from one 
to another. The elevation of the dome, which is all built from tile interior, 
is from four to six inches above the level of the field. Beside the moss or 
grass, they frequently employ coarse wax to form the ceiling of the vault, for the 
purpose of keeping out rain, and preventing high winds from destroying it. 
Within this retreat the eggs present an appearance not very different from that 
of the humble-bee, of which we have given an engraving. 
The Cuckoo-Bees, Homadce, elegantly and gaily colored insects, save them- 
selves the trouble of nest-making by laying their eggs in the cells of their more 
industrious brothers. 
The Mason-Bee. Osniia, of which there are many kinds, makes its cells in spaces which it 
finds in timber or walls of brick or stone. 
The Carpenter-Bee, Xylocoim^ is partial to 
posts, palings, and the wood-work of houses 
which has become soft by beginning to decay. 
Wood actually decayed, or affected by dry-rot, 
they seem to reject as unfit for their purposes; 
but they make no objections to any hole pre- 
viously drilled, provided it be not too large; 
and, like the mason-bees, they not nnfrequently 
take possession of an old nest, a few repairs 
being all that in this case is necessary. When 
a new nest is to be constructed, the bee pro- 
ceeds to chisel sufiicient space for it out of the 
wood, Avith her jaws. We say her, because the 
task in this instance, as in most others of solitary 
bees and wasps, devolves solely upon the female, 
the male taking no concern in the affair, and 
probably being a;ltogether ignorant that such 
a work is going forward. The female carpen- 
ter-bee has a severe task to perform, for though 
the wood may be tolerably soft, she can only cut 
out a very small portion at a time. The suc- 
cessive parts which she gnaws off may be 
readily ascertained by an observer, as she carries 
THE CAEPENTEIl BEE. 
A, B, C, tunnelings of the carpenter bee; E, the car- 
penter bee ; D, a partition ; F, teeth, magnified. 
