Bramble-Bees and Others | Page 4

me their
permission to include these two chapters in the present volume; they
did so without fee or consideration of any kind, merely on my
representation that it would be a great pity if this uniform edition of
Fabre's Works should be rendered incomplete because certain essays
formed part of volumes of extracts previously published in this country.
Their generosity is almost unparalleled in my experience; and I wish to
thank them publicly for it in the name of the author, of the French
publishers and of the English and American publishers, as well as in
my own.
Of the remaining chapters, one or two have appeared in the "English
Review" or other magazines; but most of them now see the light in
English for the first time.
I have once more, as in the case of "The Mason-bees," to thank Miss
Frances Rodwell for the help which she has given me in the work of
translation and research; and I am also grateful for much kind
assistance received from the staff of the Natural History Museum and
from Mr. Geoffrey Meade-Waldo in particular.
ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS.

Chelsea, 1915.

CONTENTS.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.


CHAPTER 1.
BRAMBLE-DWELLERS.


CHAPTER 2.
THE OSMIAE.


CHAPTER 3.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEXES.


CHAPTER 4.
THE MOTHER DECIDES THE SEX OF THE EGG.


CHAPTER 5.
PERMUTATIONS OF SEX.


CHAPTER 6.
INSTINCT AND DISCERNMENT.

CHAPTER 7.
ECONOMY OF ENERGY.


CHAPTER 8.
THE LEAF-CUTTERS.


CHAPTER 9.
THE COTTON-BEES.


CHAPTER 10.
THE RESIN-BEES.


CHAPTER 11.
THE POISON OF THE BEE.


CHAPTER 12.
THE HALICTI: A PARASITE.


CHAPTER 13.
THE HALICTI: THE PORTRESS.


CHAPTER 14.

THE HALICTI: PARTHENOGENESIS.
INDEX.


CHAPTER 1.
BRAMBLE-DWELLERS.
The peasant, as he trims his hedge, whose riotous tangle threatens to
encroach upon the road, cuts the trailing stems of the bramble a foot or
two from the ground and leaves the root-stock, which soon dries up.
These bramble-stumps, sheltered and protected by the thorny
brushwood, are in great demand among a host of Hymenoptera who
have families to settle. The stump, when dry, offers to any one that
knows how to use it a hygienic dwelling, where there is no fear of
damp from the sap; its soft and abundant pith lends itself to easy work;
and the top offers a weak spot which makes it possible for the insect to
reach the vein of least resistance at once, without cutting away through
the hard ligneous wall. To many, therefore, of the Bee and Wasp tribe,
whether honey-gatherers or hunters, one of these dry stalks is a
valuable discovery when its diameter matches the size of its would-be
inhabitants; and it is also an interesting subject of study to the
entomologist who, in the winter, pruning-shears in hand, can gather in
the hedgerows a faggot rich in small industrial wonders. Visiting the
bramble-bushes has long been one of my favourite pastimes during the
enforced leisure of the wintertime; and it is seldom but some new
discovery, some unexpected fact, makes up to me for my torn fingers.
My list, which is still far from being complete, already numbers nearly
thirty species of bramble-dwellers in the neighbourhood of my house;
other observers, more assiduous than I, exploring another region and
one covering a wider range, have counted as many as fifty. I give at
foot an inventory of the species which I have noted.
(Bramble-dwelling insects in the neighbourhood of Serignan
(Vaucluse):
1. MELLIFEROUS HYMENOPTERA. Osmia tridentata, DUF. and
PER. Osmia detrita, PEREZ. Anthidium scapulare, LATR. Heriades
rubicola, PEREZ. Prosopis confusa, SCHENCK. Ceratina chalcites,

GERM. Ceratina albilabris, FAB. Ceratina callosa, FAB. Ceratina
coerulea, VILLERS.
2. HUNTING HYMENOPTERA. Solenius vagus, FAB. (provisions,
Diptera). Solenius lapidarius, LEP. (provisions, Spiders?). Cemonus
unicolor, PANZ. (provisions, Plant-lice). Psen atratus (provisions,
Black Plant-lice). Tripoxylon figulus, LIN. (provisions, Spiders). A
Pompilus, unknown (provisions, Spiders). Odynerus delphinalis,
GIRAUD.
3. PARASITICAL HYMENOPTERA. A Leucopsis, unknown (parasite
of Anthidium scapulare). A small Scoliid, unknown (parasite of
Solenius vagus). Omalus auratus (parasite of various bramble-dwellers).
Cryptus bimaculatus, GRAV. (parasite of Osmia detrita). Cryptus
gyrator, DUF. (parasite of Tripoxylon figulus). Ephialtes divinator,
ROSSI (parasite of Cemonus unicolor). Ephialtes mediator, GRAV.
(parasite of Psen atratus). Foenus pyrenaicus, GUERIN. Euritoma
rubicola, J. GIRAUD (parasite of Osmia detrita).
4. COLEOPTERA. Zonitis mutica, FAB. (parasite of Osmia tridentata).
Most of these insects have been submitted to a learned expert,
Professor Jean Perez, of Bordeaux. I take this opportunity of renewing
my thanks for his kindness in identifying them for me.-- Author's
Note.)
They include members of very diverse corporations. Some, more
industrious and equipped with better tools, remove the pith from the
dry stem and thus obtain a vertical cylindrical gallery, the length of
which may be nearly