Iprepareboxeswithabedoffresh,siftedearthtoreceivethelarvaeandthepupae,whichIlodgeeachinasortofhalf—cellformedbytheimprintofmyfinger。Iwillawaitthetransformationtodecidetowhichsextheybelong。Asfortheperfectinsects,theyareinspected,countedandatoncereleased。
Intheveryunlikelysuppositionthatthedistributionofthesexesmightvaryindifferentpartsofthecolony,Imakeasecondexcavation,atafewyards\'distancefromtheother。Itsuppliesmewithanothercollectionbothofperfectinsectsandofpupaeandlarvae。
Whenthemetamorphosisofthelaggardsiscompleted,whichdoesnottakemanydays,Iproceedtotakeageneralcensus。ItgivesmetwohundredandfiftyHalicti。Well,inthisnumberofBees,collectedintheburrowbeforeanyhaveemerged,Iperceivenone,absolutelynonebutfemales;or,tobemathematicallyaccurate,Ifindjustonemale,onealone;andheissosmallandfeeblethathedieswithoutquitesucceedingindivestinghimselfofhisnymphalbands。Thissolitarymaleiscertainlyaccidental。Afemalepopulationoftwohundredandforty—nineHalictiimpliesothermalesthanthisabortion,orratherimpliesnoneatall。Ithereforeeliminatehimasanaccidentofnovalueandconcludethat,intheCylindricalHalictus,theJulygenerationconsistsoffemalesonly。
Thebuilding—operationsstartagaininthesecondweekofJuly。Thegalleriesarerestoredandlengthened;newcellsarefashionedandtheoldonesrepaired。Followtheprovisioning,thelayingoftheeggs,theclosingofthecells;and,beforeJulyisover,thereissolitudeagain。Letmealsosaythat,duringthebuilding—period,notamaleappearsinsight,afactwhichaddsfurtherprooftothatalreadysuppliedbymyexcavations。
Withthehightemperatureofthistimeoftheyear,thedevelopmentofthelarvaemakesrapidprogress:amonthissufficientforthevariousstagesofthemetamorphosis。Onthe24thofAugustthereareoncemoresignsoflifeabovetheburrowsoftheCylindricalHalictus,butunderverydifferentconditions。Forthefirsttime,bothsexesarepresent。Males,soeasilyrecognizedbytheirblackliveryandtheirslimabdomenadornedwitharedring,hoverbackwardsandforwards,almostlevelwiththeground。Theyfussaboutfromburrowtoburrow。Afewrarefemalescomeoutforamomentandthengoinagain。