234 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
four leaves sewn together to form a cavity and 
sides, from which the bottom of the nest 
depended bare ; and I have found them between 
two long leaves, whose sides, from the very 
tips to near the peduncles, were closely and 
neatly sewn together.” 
The tailoring trade also has its representative 
in the leaf-cutting bees which may be said to 
imitate the work of the “ cutter-out.” The 
insects bite out circular and lozenge-shaped 
pieces of leaves with the aid of their strong 
jaws, and carry away the material to their 
nests to make thimble-shaped cells wherein the 
eggs are laid; the actual nests being narrow 
tunnels excavated out of decaying wood or in 
underground burrows, although at other times 
they may be constructed in the crevices of 
walls. 
Leaf-cutting bees belong to a group known 
as solitary bees, inasmuch as they do not 
associate in communities. Seven different kinds 
are to be found in the British Isles, one of them 
being a frequenter of London suburban gardens 
as rose-growers are well aware. Although no 
definite quantity of leaf fragments is used in 
the making of a cell, yet from observations 
that have been made it appears that the average 
number employed is eleven, seven of which are 
lozenge-shaped, and four circular. How the 
