of which there were two plants in his garden. He preserved the whole as he found it, but none of the bees contained in it had then made their appearance in a perfect state. This nidus was afterwards sent to the Rev. Mr. Kirby, and five of the chrysalids produced perfect insects; namely, three males, and two females. On comparing the down of which it was composed, with that of the campion, Mr. K. was of opinion, that Sir Thomas Cullum had mistaken its composition, as the down of the anemone is of a more silky texture than that used in this nest. This gentleman informs us, that there were, in the lock, several cells or cases, unconnected with each other, except by the wool, which was their common covering. These cells were of an oval form, and had an exterior coat of wool: under this there was a membranaceous cell, covered with several small vermiform masses of a brown substance, apparently formed of pollen and honey. These were laid, without any regular order, over the cell; and, by means of them, the wool which formed its exterior coat, was made to adhere. At the summit of this membranaceous case there was a small orifice, and within it another cell, somewhat strong and coriaceous, of a brown colour, and shining in the inside as much as if it had been covered with tinfoil. This was supposed to be the coccoon of the larva, previously to its assuming the pupa state. THE MASON BEE*. The Mason Bee, which is also one of the solitary species, derives its name from its constructing a nest of mud or mortar. This, on its exterior, has so little of a DESCRIPTION. The Mason Bee is about nine lines, or three quarters of an inch in length. Its body is black, and thickly clad with black hairs. The jaws are large and prominent, and terminate in two blunt teeth. The wings are black, with a tinge of violet. The abdomen is somewhat conical, and has underneath a patch of orange-coloured hairs. The termi regular appearance, that it is generally regarded as a piece of dirt accidentally adhering to a wall. Within, however, it is furnished with regular cells, each of which affords convenient lodgment to a white larva, much resembling that of the hive-bee. In constructing this nest, which is a work of great labour and art, the female is the sole operator, receiving no assistance whatever from the male. She After having fixed upon an angle, sheltered by any projection, on the south side of a stone wall, or upon some rough part of its surface, she goes in quest of the necessary materials. Her nest is to be constructed of a kind of mortar, of which sand is to be the basis. is very cautious in her choice of this, and selects it with her jaws, grain by grain. To shorten her labour, before she transports it for use, she glues together, by means of a viscid saliva from her body, as many grains as she can carry these form a little mass, about the size of a small shot. Taking this up in her jaws, she conveys it to the place she has fixed upon for the site of her house. She labours incessantly till her whole work is completed, which usually occupies five or six days. The number of cells in one nest is from three to fifteen: these are all similar, and nearly equal in dimensions, each being about an inch high, and half an inch in diameter; and, before its orifice is closed, resembling a thimble in shape. When a cell is raised to somewhat more than half its height, the little mason lays up in it a store of pollen, seasoned with honey, for the sustenance of its future inhabitant. This being done, she deposits her egg, finishes and covers her cell, and nating joints of the legs are reddish.-The male is covered with red hairs. SYNONYMS. Abeille Maçonne. Reaumur.-It is not known to which of the Linnean species this Bee is to be referred. Fabricius calls it Apis muraria: but he has described the male for the female; and vice versa, the female for the male.—Apis mu-` raria. Tigny.-Apis comentaria. Cuvier. then proceeds to the erection of a second, which she furnishes and finishes in similar manner; and so on till the work is completed. The cells are not placed in any regular order: some are parallel with the wall, others perpendicular to it, and others are inclined to it at different angles. This occasions many empty spaces between the cells. These the laborious architect fills up with the same kind of cement, and she then bestows on the whole group a common covering, made with coarser grains of sand; so that at length, the nest becomes a mass of mortar, so hard as not easily to be penetrated even by the blade of a knife. The nests of the Mason Bees, which sometimes last for several seasons, are often the cause of desperate conflicts. When one insect has taken possession of a nest, and is gone abroad in quest of materials to repair it, another will frequently come to seize upon it. If they meet, a battle invariably ensues. This is always fought in the air. Sometimes the two Bees fly with such rapidity and force against each other, that both fall to the ground. But in general, like birds of prey, the one endeavours to rise above the other, and to give a downward blow. To avoid the stroke, the undermost, instead of flying forward, or laterally, is frequently observed to fly backward. This retrograde flight is likewise performed occasionally by the common housefly, and some other insects, though we are unable to perceive what stimulates them to employ so uncommon a movement. From the hardness of the materials with which the Mason Bee constructs her nest, and from the industry and dexterity which she employs to protect her progeny from enemies of every kind, we should naturally imagine that the young-ones would be in perfect safety, and that their castle would be impregnable. But, notwithstanding all these precautions, they are often devoured by the larvæ of a peculiar species of ichneumon fly, the eggs of which are deposited in the cells before the Bee has completed them. They have also an ene my even more formidable than the ichneumon. A spé cies of beetle* insinuates its eggs into an unfinished cell: from this proceeds a strong and rapacious grub, which often pierces through every cell in the nest, and successively devours all the inhabitants. THE WOOD-PIERCING-BEE t. The operations of the Wood-piercers merit our careful attention. In the spring of the year they frequent gardens, and search for rotten, or at least for dead wood, in order to make a habitation for their youngones. They usually choose the decaying uprights of arbours, espaliers, or the props of vines; but they will sometimes attack garden-seats, thick doors, and windowshutters. When the female of this species, (for in her operation she receives no assistance from the male,) has selected some old wooden post suited to her purpose, she begins her work by boring perpendicularly into it; when she has advanced about half an inch, she changes her direction, and then proceeds nearly parallel with its sides, for twelve or fifteen inches, making the hollow about half an inch in diameter. If the wood be sufficiently thick, she sometimes forms three or four of these long holes in its interior; a labour, which, for a single insect, seems prodigious; and in the execution of it some weeks are often employed. On the ground, for about a foot from the place in which one of these Bees is working, little heaps of timber-dust are to be seen. These heaps daily increase in size, and the particles * Attelabus apiarius, of Linnæus. + DESCRIPTION. These Bees are larger than the queens of the Honey-bee. Their bodies are smooth, except the sides, which are covered with hair. SYNONYMS. Apis violacea. Linn.-L'Abeille perce-bois. Cuvier-Xylocope violette. Latreille. that compose them are almost as large as those produced by a hand-saw. The strong jaws of this insect are the only instruments of perforation which she employs. After the holes are prepared, they are divided into ten or twelve separate apartments, each about an inch deep, the roof of one serving for the bottom of another. The divisions are composed of particles of wood, cemented together by a glutinous substance from the animal's body. In making one of these she commences by gluing an annular plate of wood-dust, about the thickness of half-a-crown, round the internal circumference of the cavity: to this plate she attaches a second, to the second a third, and so on till the whole floor is completed. Before each cell is closed, it is filled with a paste composed of the farina of flowers mixed with honey, and an egg is deposited in it. When the larva is hatched, it has scarcely room sufficient to turn itself in the cell; but as the paste is devoured, the space is enlarged so as to allow the animal to perform every necessary operation towards changing its state. We are informed by M. de Reaumur, that M. Pitot furnished him with a piece of wood, about an inch and a half in diameter, that contained the cells of one of these Bees. He cut off as much of the wood as was sufficient to expose two of the cells to view, in each of which there was a larva. To prevent the injuries of the air, he closed the aperture that he had made, by pasting on it a bit of glass. The cells were at that time almost entirely filled with paste. The two worms were exceedingly small, and, of course, occupied but little space between the walls of the cells and the mass of paste. As the animals increased in size, the paste daily diminished. He began to observe them on the 12th of June; and on the 27th of the same month, the paste in each cell was nearly consumed, and the worm occupied the greatest part of its habitation. On the 2d of July, the provisions of both worms were entirely exhausted. The five or six following days they fasted, which seemed to be a necessary abstinence, during |