Bramble-Bees and Others

orzou - Jean-Henri Fabre

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166 pages

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Publié par	orzou
Publié le	08 décembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	25
Langue	English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bramble-bees and Others, by J. Henri Fabre This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Bramble-bees and Others Author: J. Henri Fabre Release Date: January 17, 2009 [EBook #3421] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAMBLE-BEES AND OTHERS *** Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger BRAMBLE-BEES AND OTHERS by J. HENRI FABRE TRANSLATED BY ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS, F.Z.S. TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. In this volume I have collected all the essays on Wild Bees scattered through the "Souvenirs entomologiques," with the exception of those on the Chalicodomae, or Mason-bees proper, which form the contents of a separate volume entitled "The Mason-bees." The first two essays on the Halicti (Chapters 12 and 13) have already appeared in an abbreviated form in "The Life and Love of the Insect," translated by myself and published by Messrs. A. & C. Black (in America by the Macmillan Co.) in 1911. With the greatest courtesy and kindness, Messrs. Black have given 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 CHAPTER 1. CHAPTER 2. CHAPTER 3. CHAPTER 4. CHAPTER 5. CHAPTER 6. CHAPTER 7. CHAPTER 8. CHAPTER 9. BRAMBLE-DWELLERS. THE OSMIAE. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEXES. THE MOTHER DECIDES THE SEX OF THE EGG. PERMUTATIONS OF SEX. INSTINCT AND DISCERNMENT. ECONOMY OF ENERGY. THE LEAF-CUTTERS. 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. 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 a cubit. This sheath is next divided, by partitions, into more or less numerous storeys, each of which forms the cell of a larva. Others, less wellendowed with strength and implements, avail themselves of the old galleries of other insects, galleries that have been abandoned after serving as a home for their builder's family. Their only work is to make some slight repairs in the ruined tenement, to clear the channel of its lumber, such as the remains of cocoons and the litter of shattered ceilings, and lastly to build new partitions, either with a plaster made of clay or with a concrete formed of pith-scrapings cemented with a drop of saliva. You can tell these borrowed dwellings by the unequal size of the storeys. When the worker has herself bored the channel, she economizes her space: she

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