so as to strike an average between the largest and the smallest lumps,
we find the total weight of the Bee's masonry to amount to three-
quarters of a ton. And, even so, people tell me that they have seen
this beaten elsewhere. Leave the Mason-bee to her own devices, in the
spot that suits her; allow the work of many generations to accumulate;
and, one fine day, the roof will break down under the extra burden.
Let the nests grow old; let them fall to pieces when the damp gets
into them; and you will have chunks tumbling on your head big enough
to crack your skull. There you see the work of a very little-known
insect. (The insect is so little known that I made a serious mistake
when treating of it in the first volume of these "Souvenirs." Under my
erroneous denomination of Chalicodoma sicula are really comprised two
species, one building its nests in our dwellings and particularly
under the tiles of outhouses, the other building its nests on the
branches of shrubs. The first species has received various names,
which are, in order of priority: Chalicodoma pyrenaica, LEP.
(Megachile); Chalicodoma pyrrhopeza, GERSTACKER; Chalicodoma
rufitarsis, GIRAUD. It is a pity that the name occupying the first
place should lend itself to misconception. I hesitate to apply the
epithet of Pyrenean to an insect which is much less common in the
Pyrenees than in my own district. I shall call it the Chalicodoma, or
Mason-bee, of the Sheds. There is no objection to the use of this name
in a book where the reader prefers lucidity to the tyranny of
systematic entomology. The second species, that which builds its nests
on the branches, is Chalicodoma rufescens, J. PEREZ. For a like
reason, I shall call it the Chalicodoma of the Shrubs. I owe these
corrections to the kindness of Professor Jean Perez, of Bordeaux, who
is so well-versed in the lore of Wasps and Bees.--Author's Note.)

These treasures were insufficient, not in regard to quantity, but in