The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-09-13
INSECT HOMES.

In the course Of last summer, paid visit to
friend who lives about ten miles out of town
went for two nights and one day, which last
spent wholly in lounging about his garden, lie
was off by an early train Co business, and came
back still bristlng with energy at six o'clock
In the interval, | succeeded in dismssinR from
my mind all thought Of the great strife from
which had no nightly rural retreat myself and
made the most of ten hours steady sunshine. |
cannot tell you what did. l cannot lay down
any rule for the enjoyment of whole holiday;
but one little incident started such an agreeable
train of inquiry and meditation in nay mind,
that II you have us much pleasure In reading
this as have in writing IL, will make mo-
more apology for the deed. 1t is nothing, l
Know. have just given a retrospective glance
at the wet haes above my pen, and am quite
ashamed at all this preamble about bee not a
big bee, either, but the smallest ever saw.
had found remote corner garden scat,
elbowed With the barked branches of some twisted
tree, which gave the hedge-carpenter all the
curves be wanted in his rough but comfortable
structure, ready grown. Setting myself down in
this, and dismissing rs much of the machinery
of thought as showed signs of motion from my
holiday making brains, 1T my pipe blew a long
cone OF smoke out into the still summer air and
looked up at the calm blue space above my head,
IN which the swallows were skating with swift
and graceful turns. But presently / could not
help noticing a yellow banded little bee, which
several times poised itself in stationary flight
above my hand. l could not see its wings at
least not well, for they buzzed with such rapidity
ms to show like small cean-edged mist or halo
around the body which they supported. This
was Kept perfectly still. IL moved no more, any
way, than the head of a great rusty nail which
stained the elbow of my scat.
The equilibrium of these little scraps and'motes
OF moving nature is as perfect as that of the great
globe itself: they are chips of the old block. The
earth spins round, and sleeps upon its pole in
perfect rest, the very opposite of idleness SO
this little bee, balancing itself there aud forming
an opinion of me in stable equilibrium, was in
tensely busy, buzzing with full.strung, healthy
nerve in summer stiffness. Presently, It swung
itself out OF its station, and made tour. Ye
principles of Dynamicsl will this mighty globe
ever thus take cruise into space Is this long
succession OF ages merely but the pausing of an
insect In its flight? A thousand years are with
she Lord as one day. Will ever the planets
swarm and climb over one another's backs like
bees, and be bived In some new arrangement of
the cosmosS ? Thus thought, or rather let the
observant, stationary bee tickle tho small rem
nant of thinking material l had left In nv brain
After several tours and repetitions OF hs poised
scrutiny, my little friend decided that was a
harmless giant, even if not inanimate for had
net so much as winked under his inspection. He
made up his mind, suddenly alighted ON the
timber elbow of my seat, and without knocking
or brushing his shoes, tucked his wings fiat 10 his
side, and walked into little round hole, as clean
edged and circular as If it had been made with
small, sharp centre-bit He walked slap into il
and wholly disappeared. II was exactly his size
he was gone so long that began TO grow quite
uneasy: There was no other hole; he must be
there still How could express my anxiety Ha
know. STOPPING down, l blew long thin line
of tobacco-smole into the hole leaned back. and
waited for an answer. He came out in abou
half minute, in person, hindforemOst and
highly 1ncensed. OF course, my recovered friend
had no idea that had summoned him thus.
was leaning back in the old attitude but almost
betrayed myself by an apology when / saw how
angry and alarmed my little gentleman was
he hustled out OF his hole backwards, which at
tttude, by the way, does not add 20 the effect of
resentfui gesture, turned sharp round the moment
ne had drawn his ears clear of the doorway, and
gave such glance of reproof at things in gene
raj, that checked remark which might have
been construed into q dangerous confession.
Now, what was that bee about? The question
led me rambling on into the subject of Insect
Homes. What was he about First, il was not
believe, a he, but a she. The bee was laying
an egg; at least suppose so. consulted book
on insects when got home, and found that there
are solitary bees which behave thus. Sometimes
IN the chinks of wall, sometimes in soft wood,
these little creatures will deposit few eggs in
cell-like thimbles one fitting into another, and
stored with the food needed by the forthcoming
larva. The sides and lining Of these cells are
sometimes very curious. We have heard of the
buresque invention of 'meltng sawdust and
running it into deal boards without knots !" but
this is the familiar process of at least one car
penter bee. When she has excavated the hole
that forms the house for her future progeny, she
makes the walls of its various apartments for
each baby~bee must have nursery all TO itself
the dust from her own boring tool stuck together
Thus she constructs ten or twelye-roomed tene-
meut carrying her anger and gue-pot about on
her own person.
There is another little bee described by Reau-
mur, which not only thus prepares a lodging for
her grub, but actually lines IL with tapestry cut
and carefully shaped from the petals of the
brightest flowers.
There may occasionally be found in sandy
sunny banks another collection Of nursery cham
bers formed by the mason-wasp. This little
builder has an apparatus like a double pickaxe
with which IL penetrutes the soil ejectng as Il
goes along a fuid which assists the entry Of It's
natural tool. As II progresses Il builds the mate
rial from the excavation into a sort of long porch
70 the entrance Of its hole, which is sometimes
not less Than two or three inches in length.
Through this il crawls every time Il returns 70 its
work it acts like the hoard at the gate Of a work.
yard, allowing no entrance except on business"
while the structure is in progress.
Troublesome insecis are fond Of saving Them
selves pains by Introducing their eggs into the
cradle prepared for those Of Others-thus, our
Inason-wasp makes the passage 10 IT, nursery as
di1cult as possible till its own business Of egg
laying is over. Then IL pulls the porch to pieces
.stutfs the material into the mouth Of the hole
and flies away contentedly to die. But we need
not look into unfamiliar examples of Its skill 70
appreciate the household cares Of the world of
5nsignifcance. Many, perhaps most insects, go
through four stages of life-the egg the laTya or
grub, the pupa or chrysalis, and the Image, the
perfect result then begins again the process by
laying eggs, and having thus realized the fullest
development of its race, deceases.
In one or other Of these states, we find insects
everywhere. They are at home in earths air, and
water; they take hold by their hands in kings
palaces, and tickle the beggar on his mattress
They float in the dry blue atmosphere far above
Our heads, and Wriggle under the rotten
soil beneath our feet. They board and lodge
upon man and beast, upon the living aud the
dead You may find them on the rose and on
the dunghill. They survive the steaming heat
OF the tropic summer aud the frozen air of the |
nigh Alpine chalet. Wherever YOU CO. whatever |
you examine, you may come across some /
furious and intricate snuggery of insects, which |
ffbar proves their homes 70 be more varied 4
cepttng man ''''"e N'0'''''Oi 4O' Va
7 i've HSeo S not 90 far TO look for them Suppose
~yorlS 80 Lohoon, am therefore shut up In
thnse ~ ~ t tnsn, from which all insects except
enoso W SHOULD most gladly dismiss E9 oIt
OF sight, are excluded f' ~isnilss iVIeFei out
NO such thing. venture 10 asssr+ ,i,o. = -.
aild genia entomoogist could ind enou'i - Aeel %
tertain himself and the public from tbs 70 en-
place insect -oompanions of his study t6osatt
are at home with him as he sits among bis s Inat
aud has books. don't pretend 10 be an ehtafoa
iogist mysef-4 Am only the grub Of one may