Theinsectnationisrepresentedattheseritesbyafewofitsmorezealousmembers。ThereisfirstofalltheHoney—bee,theswornenemyofstrikes,whoprofitsbytheleastlullofwintertofindoutifsomerosemaryisnotbeginningtoopensomewherenearthehive。Thedroningofthebusyswarmfillsthefloweryvault,whileasnowofpetalsfallssoftlytothefootofthetree。
Togetherwiththepopulationofharvestersthereminglesanother,lessnumerous,ofmeredrinkers,whosenesting—timehasnotyetbegun。ThisisthecolonyoftheOsmiae,withtheircopper—colouredskinandbright—redfleece。Twospecieshavecomehurryinguptotakepartinthejoysofthealmond—tree:first,theHornedOsmia,cladinblackvelvetontheheadandbreastandinredvelvetontheabdomen;
and,alittlelater,theThree—hornedOsmia,whoseliverymustberedandredonly。Thesearethefirstdelegatesdespatchedbythepollen—
gleanerstoascertainthestateoftheseasonandattendthefestivaloftheearlyblooms。\'Tisbutamomentsincetheybursttheircocoon,thewinterabode:theyhavelefttheirretreatsinthecrevicesoftheoldwalls;shouldthenorthwindblowandsetthealmond—treeshivering,theywillhastentoreturntothem。Hailtoyou,OmydearOsmiae,whoyearly,fromthefarendoftheharmas（Thepieceofwastegroundinwhichtheauthorstudiedhisinsectsintheirnaturalstate。Cf。\"TheLifeoftheFly\"byJ。HenriFabre,translatedbyAlexanderTeixeiradeMattos:chapter1。——Translator\'sNote。）,oppositesnow—cappedVentoux（AmountainintheProvencalAlps,nearCarpentrasandSerignan,6,271feet。——Translator\'sNote。）,bringmethefirsttidingsoftheawakeningoftheinsectworld！Iamoneofyourfriends;letustalkaboutyoualittle。
MostoftheOsmiaeofmyregionhavenoneoftheindustryoftheirkinswomenofthebrambles,thatistosay,theydonotthemselvespreparethedwellingdestinedforthelaying。Theywantready—madelodgings,suchastheoldcellsandoldgalleriesofAnthophoraeandChalicodomae。Ifthesefavouritehauntsarelacking,thenahiding—