Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . ces, that ourreason finds the greatest difficulty, in explaining thegoverning principle of the minds of the inferior ani-mals. The mason-bee makes her nest by an inva-riable rule; the model is in her mind, as it has beenin the mind of her race from their first creation: they MASON-BEES, 41 have learnt nothing by experience. But the mode inwhich they accomphsh this task varies according tothe situations in which they are placed. They appearto have a glimm
Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . ces, that ourreason finds the greatest difficulty, in explaining thegoverning principle of the minds of the inferior ani-mals. The mason-bee makes her nest by an inva-riable rule; the model is in her mind, as it has beenin the mind of her race from their first creation: they MASON-BEES, 41 have learnt nothing by experience. But the mode inwhich they accomphsh this task varies according tothe situations in which they are placed. They appearto have a glimmering of reason, employed as anaccessary and instrument of their instinct. The structure, when finished, consisted of a wall ofclay supported by two contiguous bricks, enclosingsix chambers, within which a mass of pollen, ratherlarger than a cherry-stone, was deposited, togetherwith an egg, from which in due time a grub washatched. Contrary to what has been recorded by pre-ceding naturalists, with respect to other mason-bees,we found the cells in this instance quite parallel andperpendicular; but it may also be remarked, that the 1 2 3. Cells of Mason-Bees, built, in the first and second figures, byOsmia hicornis between biicks. and in the third, by Megachiltmuraria in the fluting of an old pilaster-, about half the natural size- bee itself was a species altogether different from theone which we have described above as the Antlw-phora retusa, and agreed with the figure of the onewe caught quarrying the clay—[Osmia hicornis.) There was one circumstance attendmg the pro-ceedings of this mason-bee which struck us not alittle, though wo could not explain it to our own VOL. IV. 4* 4S INSECT ARCHITECTURE. satisfaction. Every time she left her nest for the pur-pose of procuring a fresh supply of materials, shepaid a regular visit to the blossoms of a lilac treewhich grew near. Had these blossoms afforded asupply of pollen, with which she could have reple-nished her cells, we could h
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidnaturalhistoryof01bos, booksubjectinsects
