438 
BEE. 
builds her nest with a sort of mortar made of earth., 
which she attaches to the side of a wall; and from 
this peculiar mode of constructing her habitation 
she is called the mason bee. The whole of the la- 
bour and art required in constructing this nest, and 
which is not a little, falls to the share of the fe- 
male, who alone has the management of every 
part of it ; and as this bee lives a solitary life, 
she has no companions to assist her in the task. 
The outside of this dwelling has a very rude ap- 
pearance, much like a common lump of dirt ; but 
within it assumes a more regular form, and is di- 
vided into a number of cells, nearly of the same 
size, though varying in number from three to fif- 
teen. These cells, which are nearly an inch high 
and half an inch in diameter, resemble a thimble 
in shape, and serve, like those of the other species, 
for apartments for their young, and storehouses for 
their future subsistence. The cells, as well as the other 
parts of the nest, are formed of grains of sand con- 
nected together by a glutinous fluid with which the 
animal is provided ; and the whole of the fabric is 
completed, by the indefatigable exertions of the little 
female, in the course of a week. These nests, which 
are soft at first, become as hard as mortar, and, if 
not molested, will last several years. Notwith- 
standing the strength of their houses, these bees 
are not secure from injury, being subject to the 
visits of an ichneumon fly, which contrives to lay 
its eggs in their cells ; and the consequence is al- 
ways fatal, as the eggs, after being hatched into 
