Bramble-Bees and Others

Jean-Henri Fabre

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pubOne.info present you this new edition. 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.

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• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 06 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819948384
• Langue: English

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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 onWild Bees scattered through the “Souvenirs entomologiques, ” withthe exception of those on the Chalicodomae, or Mason-bees proper,which form the contents of a separate volume entitled “TheMason-bees. ”
The first two essays on the Halicti (Chapters 12 and13) have already appeared in an abbreviated form in “The Life andLove of the Insect, ” translated by myself and published by Messrs.A. & C. Black (in America by the Macmillan Co. ) in 1911. Withthe greatest courtesy and kindness, Messrs. Black have given metheir permission to include these two chapters in the presentvolume; they did so without fee or consideration of any kind,merely on my representation that it would be a great pity if thisuniform edition of Fabre's Works should be rendered incompletebecause certain essays formed part of volumes of extractspreviously published in this country. Their generosity is almostunparalleled in my experience; and I wish to thank them publiclyfor it in the name of the author, of the French publishers and ofthe English and American publishers, as well as in my own.
Of the remaining chapters, one or two have appearedin the “English Review” or other magazines; but most of them nowsee 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 mein the work of translation and research; and I am also grateful formuch kind assistance received from the staff of the Natural HistoryMuseum and from Mr. Geoffrey Meade-Waldo in particular.
ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS. Chelsea, 1915.
CHAPTER 1. BRAMBLE-DWELLERS.
The peasant, as he trims his hedge, whose riotoustangle threatens to encroach upon the road, cuts the trailing stemsof the bramble a foot or two from the ground and leaves theroot-stock, which soon dries up. These bramble-stumps, shelteredand protected by the thorny brushwood, are in great demand among ahost of Hymenoptera who have families to settle. The stump, whendry, offers to any one that knows how to use it a hygienicdwelling, where there is no fear of damp from the sap; its soft andabundant pith lends itself to easy work; and the top offers a weakspot which makes it possible for the insect to reach the vein ofleast resistance at once, without cutting away through the hardligneous wall. To many, therefore, of the Bee and Wasp tribe,whether honey-gatherers or hunters, one of these dry stalks is avaluable discovery when its diameter matches the size of itswould-be inhabitants; and it is also an interesting subject ofstudy to the entomologist who, in the winter, pruning-shears inhand, can gather in the hedgerows a faggot rich in small industrialwonders. Visiting the bramble-bushes has long been one of myfavourite 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 theneighbourhood of my house; other observers, more assiduous than I,exploring another region and one covering a wider range, havecounted as many as fifty. I give at foot an inventory of thespecies which I have noted.
(Bramble-dwelling insects in the neighbourhood ofSerignan [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 Anthidiumscapulare).
A small Scoliid, unknown (parasite of Soleniusvagus).
Omalus auratus (parasite of variousbramble-dwellers).
Cryptus bimaculatus, GRAV. (parasite of Osmiadetrita).
Cryptus gyrator, DUF. (parasite of Tripoxylonfigulus).
Ephialtes divinator, ROSSI (parasite of Cemonusunicolor).
Ephialtes mediator, GRAV. (parasite of Psenatratus).
Foenus pyrenaicus, GUERIN.
Euritoma rubicola, J. GIRAUD (parasite of Osmiadetrita).
4. COLEOPTERA.
Zonitis mutica, FAB. (parasite of Osmiatridentata).
Most of these insects have been submitted to alearned expert, Professor Jean Perez, of Bordeaux. I take thisopportunity of renewing my thanks for his kindness in identifyingthem for me. — Author's Note. )
They include members of very diverse corporations.Some, more industrious and equipped with better tools, remove thepith from the dry stem and thus obtain a vertical cylindricalgallery, the length of which may be nearly a cubit. This sheath isnext divided, by partitions, into more or less numerous storeys,each of which forms the cell of a larva. Others, less well-endowedwith strength and implements, avail themselves of the old galleriesof other insects, galleries that have been abandoned after servingas a home for their builder's family. Their only work is to makesome slight repairs in the ruined tenement, to clear the channel ofits lumber, such as the remains of cocoons and the litter ofshattered ceilings, and lastly to build new partitions, either witha plaster made of clay or with a concrete formed of pith-scrapingscemented with a drop of saliva.
You can tell these borrowed dwellings by the unequalsize of the storeys. When the worker has herself bored the channel,she economizes her space: she knows how costly it is. The cells, inthat case, are all alike, the proper size for the tenant, neithertoo large nor too small. In this box, which has cost weeks oflabour, the insect has to house the largest possible number oflarvae, while allotting the necessary amount of room to each.Method in the superposition of the floors and economy of space arehere the absolute rule.
But there is evidence of waste when the insect makesuse of a bramble hollowed by another. This is the case withTripoxylon figulus. To obtain the store-rooms wherein to deposither scanty stock of Spiders, she divides her borrowed cylinder intovery unequal cells, by means of slender clay partitions. Some are acentimetre (. 39 inch. — Translator's Note. ) deep, the proper sizefor the insect; others are as much as two inches. These spaciousrooms, out of all proportion to the occupier, reveal the recklessextravagance of a casual proprietress whose title-deeds have costher nothing.
But, whether they be the original builders orlabourers touching up the work of others, they all alike have theirparasites, who constitute the third class of bramble-dwellers.These have neither galleries to excavate nor victuals to provide;they lay their egg in a strange cell; and their grub feeds eitheron the provisions of the lawful owner's larva or on that larvaitself.
At the head of this population, as regards both thefinish and the magnitude of the structure, stands the Three-prongedOsmia (Osmia tridentata, DUF. and PER. ), to whom this chaptershall be specially devoted. Her gallery, which has the diameter ofa lead pencil, sometimes descends to a depth of twenty inches. Itis at first almost exactly cylindrical; but, in the course of thevictualling, changes occur which modify it slightly atgeometrically determined distances. The work of boring possesses nogreat interest. In the month of July, we see the insect, perched ona bramble-stump, attack the pith and dig itself a well. When thisis deep enough, the Osmia goes down, tears off a few particles ofpith and comes up again to fling her load outside. This monotonouslabour continues until the Bee deems the gallery long enough, oruntil, as often happens, she finds herself stopped by an impassableknot.
Next comes the ration of honey, the laying of theegg and the partitioning, the last a delicate operation to whichthe insect proceeds by degrees from the base to the top. At thebottom of the gallery, a pile of honey is placed and an egg laidupon the pile; then a partition is built to separate this cell fromthe next, for each larva must have its special chamber, about acentimetre and a half (. 58 inch. — Translator's Note. ) long,having no communication with the chambers adjoining. The materialsemployed for this partition are bramble-sawdust, glued into a pastewith the insects' saliva. Whence are these materials obtained? Doesthe Osmia go outside, to gather on the ground the rubbish which sheflung out when boring the cylinder? On the contrary, she is frugalof her time and has better things to do than to pick up thescattered particles from the soil. The channel, as I said, is atfirst uniform in size, almost cylindrical; its sides still retain athin coating of pith, forming the reserves which the Osmia, as aprovident builder, has economized wherewith to construct thepartitions. So she scrapes away with her mandibles, keeping withina certain radius, a radius that corresponds with the dimensions ofthe cell which she is going to build next; moreover, she conductsher work in such a way as to hollow out more in the middle andleave the two ends contracted. In this manner, the cylindricalchannel of the start is succeeded, in the worked portion, by anovoid cavity flattened at both ends, a space resembling a littlebarrel. This space will form the second cell.
As for the rubbish, it is utilized on the spot forthe lid or cover that serves as a ceiling for one cell and a floorfor the next. Our own master-builders could not contrive moresuccessfully to make the best use of their labourers' time. On thefloor thus obtained, a second ration of honey is placed;